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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29518275">It all starts with a wish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulofbooks/pseuds/carefulofbooks'>carefulofbooks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairly OddParents, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(but only eventually bc they despise each other at first), Adorable Park Jimin (BTS), Alternate Universe - Fairly OddParents Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ballet, Basketball Player Kim Taehyung | V, Bonfires, Cat Kim Seokjin | Jin, Cat Min Yoongi | Suga, Coming of Age, Cute, Cute Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Cute Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Dancer Park Jimin (BTS), Declarations Of Love, Dog Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, EVERYTHING AND I MEAN EVERY SINGLE THING IS TAGGED, Enemies to Friends, Established Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Established Relationship, Eventual Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Eventual Romance, Everyone Loves Kim Taehyung | V, Fairly OddParents AU, Fairy AU, Fairy Godparents, Fairy Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Fairy Kim Seokjin | Jin, Fairy Min Yoongi | Suga, Falling In Love, Field Trip, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, High School, Hook-Up, Hurt/Comfort, I cannot believe the fairly oddparents got me back into writing fan fiction after 7 years, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jealous Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Jeon Jungkook &amp; Kim Taehyung | V are Best Friends, Kim Namjoon | RM &amp; Park Jimin are Best Friends, Kim Seokjin | Jin is Whipped, Kim Seokjin | Jin is a Tease, Kim Taehyung | V Has Bad Parents, Kim Taehyung | V is Bad at Feelings, Kissing in the Rain, Lack of Communication, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, Love Confessions, Love songs, M/M, Magic, Married Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Mentioned BLACKPINK, Mentioned GOT7 (GOT7), Mentioned Mamamoo Ensemble, Mentioned Monsta X Ensemble, Nature, OT7, One-Sided Kim Seokjin | Jin/Min Yoongi | Suga, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Park Jimin is Bad at Feelings (BTS), Park Jimin is Trying His Best (BTS), Park Jimin is Whipped (BTS), Park Jimin is a Mess (BTS), Park Jimin-centric (BTS), Past Kim Seokjin | Jin/Min Yoongi | Suga, Picnics, Playgrounds, Popular Jeon Jungkook, Popular Kim Taehyung | V, Read at your own risk!, Recreational Drug Use, Requited Love, SO IF YOU READ THE TAGS YOU'RE GONNA SPOIL YOURSELF EVERYTHING, Sassy Kim Seokjin | Jin, School, Shapeshifting, Singer Kim Taehyung | V, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Song: Lie (BTS), Song: Scenery (Kim Taehyung | V), Sope, Strangers to Lovers, Student Jeon Jungkook, Student Kim Namjoon | RM, Student Kim Taehyung | V, Student Park Jimin (BTS), Study Date, Supportive Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Supportive Kim Namjoon | RM, Supportive Kim Seokjin | Jin, Supportive Min Yoongi | Suga, Talent Shows, Tutor Kim Namjoon | RM, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Underground Rapper Kim Namjoon | RM, or maybe not, soft, vmin - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:33:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>65,595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29518275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulofbooks/pseuds/carefulofbooks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><br/>Jimin is an average kid<br/>That no one understands<br/>Mom and Dad and his tutor<br/>Always giving him commands<br/>The doom and gloom<br/>Up in his room<br/>Is broken instantly<br/>By his magic little pets<br/>Who make sure all he wants, he gets<br/> </p><p>  <em>…or almost everything he wants </em></p><p> <br/><b> or, the BTS x Fairly Oddparents AU you didn't know you needed!<br/></b><br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: The Fairly Oddparents</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Prompted by <a href="https://twitter.com/sopeestar/status/1330479190152503300?s=20">this tweet</a> <em>“Jimin as Timmy Turner and Sope as his fairly oddparents”</em> …guess what? I saw it. I liked it. I wrote a 60k Vmin magic AU based on it.</p>
<p>So... here I<strong> finally</strong> am. I am so happy about this I may cry. I haven’t written fan fiction in years, and even when I used to, I never finished any long project. This is very special to me and I hope you will like it too. Huge thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/griffxnblake">Lia</a> for beta-ing the first chapter, and to <em>Ines, Flo, Vale and Vale, Gaia</em> <em>and a lot of my twitter moots</em> for supporting me as I keyboard-smashed my way through writing this fic even when they did not know <em>a single thing</em> about it because I kept all of it a surprise. ILY! And thank you to myself for completing a fan fiction for once in my life. I am very proud of that.</p>
<p>I have never written fan fiction in English, <em>please</em> be nice in your comments! This is done purely for fun, entertainment and comfort – I do not seriously ship ANYONE in real life and want to put it out there that this is not meant to be offensive to the persons depicted in any way. It is just a light-hearted (for the most part...) AU story.<strong> I will add tags as I go, because there's maaaaaany surprises to come!</strong></p>
<p> <br/><strong>NOTES</strong> before we start:<br/>• The High School model described does not follow any national model in particular. It is not Korean nor Italian, it is not 100% US or UK even though it is mostly inspired by them. It’s a bit of a mix and match, as the story does not take place in any specific country. It’s not relevant for the core plot, just roll with it :)<br/>• The rating is for occasional swearing and use of recreational drugs. There are very brief mentions of homophobia and biphobia later on in the story, I will put the appropriate TW and tell you where they begin. Veeeeery brief though!<br/>• <em>Each character parallels one from the original cartoon… but roles may vary...</em></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The most fantastic magical things can happen, </strong> <em> <strong>and it all starts with a wish</strong> </em></p>
<p>– Pinocchio</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p>
  
</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Jimin was thinking about how miserable he felt, when he was brought back to reality by Kim Namjoon’s voice.</p>
<p>"I have already told you, if you do not concentrate and focus on the equation only, and think about the formula piece by piece, you won’t be able to solve the problem"</p>
<p>He blinked, trying to decide if it was better to play the part of the innocent, admit he had completely zoned out not to freak over the equation, or just scream right into his tutor’s face that math was not fair. He settled for somewhere in between.</p>
<p>"I don’t understand the formula… I just don’t know how to apply it" maybe it came out more desperate than he had intended to.</p>
<p>"Okay, so, it’s okay if you don’t get it, but I have explained it twice, right? And you said you had understood it? So have you understood it or not?" Namjoon asked plainly, raising his eyebrows.</p>
<p>"I… I…" Jimin tried to find the right words. Truth was, he had not understood it in the slightest.</p>
<p>Namjoon was the best peer tutor in the school, the only one who was able to explain a mathematic formula better than the professors themselves: Jimin did not want to admit that he failed to grasp the connections between the numbers after the third time Namjoon had pointed them out. But that was just how it was. He had nodded all the way through the older boy’s careful explanations, thinking that if he could remember bits and pieces he would be able to solve a simple exercise without worrying to much about why and how the formula was the way it was in the first place. But he had been wrong. And now all the frustration came back to him.</p>
<p>"I didn’t understand it" he let out in a small breath. Namjoon’s eye-roll would have been visible from the other room.</p>
<p>"Why did you say you had, then? We can’t move forward if you’re not honest with me" he inquired, keeping his composure, but Jimin could feel he was getting annoyed at him. And he knew he had all the reasons to.</p>
<p>Namjoon had helped countless other struggling students in the past few years, and he had always succeeded in his job. Or, well, almost all the times, if you don’t consider a few desperate cases who ended up dropping out of school altogether. Everyone knew it: if not even the best peer tutor the school had ever had could help you, it meant nobody could help you. It meant you were going to fail.</p>
<p>Jimin could feel tears starting to pool at the edge of his eyes, but he fought them back. The past few months were starting to get the best of him: it had been almost a full trimester since Namjoon had started tutoring him, and close to no progress had been achieved. It was just a matter of days till the older boy told him he could no longer be his tutor because of the scarce results, that was certain, and what was Jimin going to do next?</p>
<p>He needed to pass, and with somewhat good grades at least, first of all to be able to leave this school year behind him for good (not that he really knew what he was going to do a couple years from now, but that’s beyond the point), and second of all but not less important, to stop hearing his dad’s whining and stop seeing his mum’s pitiful glances.</p>
<p>His parents were not that bad, actually. He knew that. They were not overly-commanding or imposing, they worried but could be convinced and persuaded most of the times, and Jimin knew they loved him. But. But he felt like although they loved him, maybe they didn’t really like him.</p>
<p>His father, on one hand, would often complain about his bad school grades, his lack of close friends to hang out with (even if, was he really supposed to hang out with friends when his school track was that mediocre, according to the same man?), and his other lack – of purpose in life. Maybe he thought that by complaining and scolding him, Jimin would be truly motivated to achieve what he hadn’t been able to, up to that point. Jimin doubted that.</p>
<p>His mother, on the other hand, was completely resigned. She probably thought that this person was who Jimin was, all he could ever be, so she loved him and reassured him when he got a bad grade or felt lonely, but it was an empty reassurance, that Jimin felt like an invitation to accept that he should just settle for the scraps and make peace with that. And Jimin didn’t want that either. In truth, he didn’t lack purpose, he didn’t lack affection and love or will to live his last teenage years fully, but he knew his parents couldn’t really understand him.</p>
<p>And here’s where Jimin’s third and fourth problems came in, hand in hand: his apparent lack of close friends and confidants, and his visceral love for dance.</p>
<p>In the friendship department, all had gone well up to two years prior, when his best friends, Jongin and Sungwoon, had gotten a prestigious scholarship for young talents from the Australian ballet company, and left to pursue their dream abroad. Jimin hadn’t even tried. Deep down, he knew that if his friends could make it, he probably could make it too – they often reminded him of just how extraordinary he was on the stage – but he had grown up thinking that dancing was just not an option for his future.</p>
<p>He had never had a serious talk about it with his parents, but every time the idea or thought had come up, they had smiled and laughed and dismissed it – can you imagine? Basing your whole future on a dance career? Pursuing a job in the artistic field, and in one that is so competitive and where a broken ligament can leave you on the streets for good?</p>
<p><em>Of course, honey, it is a good after-school activity, and we are glad that it makes you happy, you should totally keep doing it, and maybe in the future, after you get a stable job, you can try to pursue a career as a dancer in your free time</em>.</p>
<p>In your free time, after you get a stable job. They put it so lightly that Jimin never had the heart to bring up the subject again. Ever. He loved his parents too much, and maybe the bare idea of going through the discussion again hurt too deeply as well. But Jimin had not really considered what was bound to happen if he did not bring it up again.</p>
<p>So, Jongin and Sungwoon had left. Jimin still texted them, video-called them sometimes – lately less than usual, they were starting to get pretty busy, Jongin even got a stage name – and he had even seen them once, the summer before, but that was it. They could not come back more often than that; this is just how serious the scholarship was. And Jimin, who had always relied on them so much, like they relied on him too, had been left with no close friends.</p>
<p>Sure, there were the other kids from the dance school, if you take the unbearable ones out, but they were there to chat before class, to get a pizza before Christmas or at the end of the school year, maybe to throw a fundraising party once in a while. The bond did not go deeper than that, and everyone seemed fine with it, because everyone had friends outside the dance classroom.</p>
<p>Sure, there were also some kids from school, whom Jimin talked to if they sat at the same table during class or said hello to when they met in the corridors. But just as for the dance kids, everyone already had their group of friends, and as easy and outgoing Jimin was, getting a secure spot in one of the already tight circles was hard.</p>
<p>So, there he was, lying in the sun in the back-garden or practicing step after step whenever he had free time on the weekends. Going to the movies alone was not that bad, actually. No one stole your popcorn.</p>
<p>Jimin had grown accustomed to this and it usually did not bother him too much, but there was something bothering him. Or better, someone. Someone whose circle he was desperate to break through, even if it probably was the most impenetrable of the school. Even if none of its members knew who he was. Well, one member knew who he was. He didn’t know Jimin’s name, sure, he must have forgotten it, but they had interacted once and that had been enough for Jimin to fall deep in love with him.</p>
<p>Jimin suddenly realized he had been staring into a blank point somewhere between the living room couch and the kitchen door. He shook his head, mouth forming a thin line. He was too tired, and there was no point arguing. Namjoon wouldn’t understand anyway, this all came too naturally to him to be able to understand Jimin. He heard him sigh.</p>
<p>"Alright then, that’s enough for tonight. Please go through my notes referring to the last two weeks of classes, re-do the exercises we saw together on your own, plus the rest of the last page. Noted?" he ended with a rhetorical question. Jimin nodded.</p>
<p>"If you don’t mind I think I will have a couple of words with your parents… just to check with them on your progress. I don’t do this often, but you know they want to hear from me as well-"</p>
<p>"Yeah sure, they’re in the kitchen" Jimin cut him off, staring at the kitchen’s door, ushered noises of his parents preparing dinner coming from behind it. He was feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. He wasn’t sure he wanted to have dinner with mom and dad after Namjoon had reminded them just how desperate his scholastic situation was.</p>
<p>Jimin got up, collected his pens and notebooks scattered around the living room table, and made for the stairs going up to the first floor, where his room was. He was going to put on some music, do his skin-care routine accurately and then maybe watch some Netflix or read a book. He had just moved on the first step when he heard his mother’s voice calling him from the kitchen’s door.</p>
<p>"Jimin, honey! - the boy turned around – are you not hungry?" she asked cheerfully.</p>
<p>"No, well, actually… I think I may have a bit of a headache. I will just sleep it off"</p>
<p>His mother continued on with glee: "Oh well, in that case… we wanted to tell you over dinner but now will have to do. You definitely need to know it before you get upstairs!"</p>
<p>"What do I need to know?" did he need to worry about something? What had happened while he was studying?</p>
<p>"It’s just… - she looked for her husband inside the kitchen - darling, come here a second to tell Jimin! Anyway, as I was saying… your dad and I saw you struggle a bit with school and all, you know, lately, so we thought to give you a nice surprise to cheer you up and… and all, you know?" she was struggling for words but barely holding her excitement at the same time.</p>
<p>"Okay – Jimin smiled warmly – Thank you, I am sure I will love it" he really was grateful for the thought, even if he would have never expected what he found in his room just a couple of minutes later, while Namjoon joined his parents in the kitchen to brief them on his pupil’s progress (or lack of).</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jimin thought he had heard a weird noise as he was walking down the bare corridor, and he wondered what that could come from, but opening the door to his room, his heart still skipped a couple of beats.</p>
<p>Lying on his bed, there were two figures. Two quite noticeable and different figures.</p>
<p>One was a dog, with golden long fur, green eyes and fluffy ears, his tongue flapping out of his mouth as his head turned with barely-contained excitement towards the new person in the room. The other figure was a cat, a black cat with medium-short hair, pointed ears and deep-pink eyes, whose head turned lazily but attentively in the direction of Jimin.</p>
<p>But the weirdest thing about the two was that the cat was curled against the dog’s belly, purring and resting peacefully as if the other animal was his best friend. Well, not the weirdest thing, considering that Jimin had never seen the two animals before in his whole life.</p>
<p>The boy realized his left hand was still on the door’s knob, and that all his papers and plans and notes had slid from his right one and were now lying on the ground. He had so many questions. Why did his parents get him a pet? Why did they get him two, and a dog and a cat? Why now, when he had only ever expressed his wish for a dog a couple of years back and then kind-of changed his mind and ever asked again?</p>
<p>Who on earth was down in the living room and where were his real parents?</p>
<p>He thought of turning back to ask for an explanation, but he did not want to walk in on Namjoon’s review or even worse on mom and dad talking about him after his tutor had left. So, slowly and carefully, he bent to pick up his papers, walked in the room, turned around and closed the door. He then placed his notes neatly on his desk, and walked to the bed nearby, looking around him.</p>
<p>No prank cameras. No cards or notes. Nothing else, just an extra-large and fluffy pet bed lying on the floor next to his wardrobe – one that the two animals had clearly not appreciated.</p>
<p>He stood, hands on his hips, unsure of what to do.</p>
<p>Maybe he was supposed to pet them. Yes, he would pet the cute animals for a while and then he would collect the courage to go ask his parents just what had gone through their minds exactly. Petting an adorable animal could do no harm, right?</p>
<p>He sat on the bed lightly, not to scare the two newbies with a sudden drop in the mattress. As dogs are usually friendlier with strangers, he slowly reached for the gold expanse of the pet’s fur and started brushing it with the back of his hand, between the animal’s back and stomach. The dog’s tail started wiggling happily, and then the animal gently rolled away from the cat so that Jimin’s hand would stroke his tummy.</p>
<p>It was then that he heard it.</p>
<p>"Oh yes, yes please, on my tummy, it feels so nice!"</p>
<p>Jimin’s hand froze in place for a second, and the next one the boy literally jumped away from the dog, with the result that he collapsed on his bedroom floor, bottom first.</p>
<p><strong><em>"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" </em></strong>he was pretty sure his neighbors had heard him, but he could not care less.</p>
<p>He was fairly certain that the dog had just spoken to him. It must be a prank. Or he must be hallucinating. Was it a too-realistic dream? He wanted to pinch his cheeks but he could not move, frozen on the ground in the same position he had fallen into, propped on his elbows with one leg still halfway on the bed, scared for his own life.</p>
<p>"Wait, I didn’t say stop? Did I?" the dog’s face leaned above him from the bed.</p>
<p>"Of course, you didn’t, but animals don’t talk" the cat came up right beside him.</p>
<p>"Oh right… you’re right… you know, we’ve been with the last kid so long I forgot how the first meeting goes most of the times" the dog’s mouth was actually moving, curving to shape the letters and sounds. Jimin made up his mind: he was definitely dreaming.</p>
<p>"Shall we, then?" the cat asked.</p>
<p>"Say no more: one, two, three…" the dog counted and then the animals jumped, together, from the edge of the bed. But instead of falling on top of Jimin, they dissolved in a puff of light-purple smoke.</p>
<p>Two distinctively human figures came out instead. Or, well, they were human-sized and human-looking if not for the definitely inhuman wings sprouting from their backs. And for the fact they were floating in the middle of his room.</p>
<p>"Hey, Jimin!" the one on the left shouted, his hair the color of a forest in fool bloom.</p>
<p>"I’m Yoongi…" the one on the right smiled warmly, his slender fingers pointing to his chest.</p>
<p>"… and I’m Hoseok – but you can call me Hobi" the green-haired one added.</p>
<p>"And we’re…" they locked arms, moving towards the opposite end of the room, something waving in their free hand – wait, were those wands?</p>
<p>"… your fairy godparents!" in the span of a second, a big stage with massive lights somehow appeared in Jimin’s room, lighting up a majestic, golden, Broadway-style sign spelling <strong>F A I R Y  G O D P A R E N T S</strong>. It disappeared right away. Jimin scurried to get closer to the bed, his back hitting the mattress.</p>
<p>"What do you think, Jimin?" the one called Yoongi came closer, his arms open wide. He had deep pink hair, exactly the same color as the cat’s eyes.</p>
<p>"I think I fell and hurt my head real hard, but just in case, I think I am getting the hell out of here" Jimin was quick on his feet, going for the door.</p>
<p>"Hold it, tiger!" Yoongi hurried after him. He turned around, his hand a few inches from the door knob.</p>
<p>"You can’t tell anyone about us… if you do, we’ll just go away forever!" Hoseok added.</p>
<p>"What? Why?" Jimin’s hand got to the tender skin in his inner arm and he pinched.</p>
<p>Ouch.</p>
<p>He definitely wasn’t dreaming, and the two boys in his room were definitely flying. They also had something on their heads, something resembling a small golden crown, which was floating as well, on top of their hair. Yoongi waved his wand, a black stick with a shiny golden star on top, and suddenly an enormous book appeared right above Jimin.</p>
<p>"That’s what the rule book says! – and the volume fell on top of Jimin’s head, who barely managed to put his arms up and catch it before it tumbled on the ground, bringing him along – Oops! Sorry!"</p>
<p>"Trust me Jimin, there’s lots of rules! Sooooo many rules! We’ll need to introduce you to all of them at some point…" Hoseok did a somersault mid-air, his feet never touching the floor.</p>
<p>"Wait wait wait just wait. What are you, who are you, why are you here?" the boy asked in a crescendo.</p>
<p>"We want to help you! – Hoseok came forward, a cloud of shiny purple dust whirling in his hand – We have magic! Poof… magic!"</p>
<p>"We are fairy godparents, a bit like godparents but well… we actually do grant wishes! And we were assigned to you, so we are here to grant yours" Yoongi explained.</p>
<p>"How can I know you are real?" Jimin asked, now slightly more curious than scared. He had always been a bit superstitious, after all.</p>
<p>"Try us, ask us for anything – well, anything permitted by the rules, of course. And remember to always say<em> “I wish…”</em> before you express your wish"</p>
<p>Jimin thought about it for a moment, then he heard the front entrance door shutting and he suddenly had an idea. He climbed onto his bed and looked into the window facing the front garden. He felt Hoseok and Yoongi coming up beside him, one on each side.</p>
<p>"Do you see that boy?" he asked, his chin pointing towards his adored tutor Namjoon.</p>
<p>"Yes…" Yoongi conceded.</p>
<p>"Can you make him trip and fall? Nothing to hurt him too bad, I just wish for a good and loud trip and fall. Oh, and I wish you make his papers fall all over the garden. Also tie his shoelaces together so that I know you did it and he just did not fall on his own, which is more likely than you would think" Yoongi and Hoseok exchanged a quick glance behind him.</p>
<p>"Alright, well, he is part of the reasons we were assigned to you so… let’s go" Hoseok’s wand touched the window, and with a flick of his wrist, the tip sparkled.</p>
<p>Jimin’s gaze followed the imaginary trail of magic to Namjoon, who somehow tripped into a low step and fell sideways into the grass. As he was falling, the notes carefully pinned together and secured under his arm fell to the ground and got scattered all around him because of a sudden rush of wind – or something like that.</p>
<p>"<em>Motherf-</em>" Namjoon’s imprecations were canceled out by Jimin’s soft laugh. Even from up there, he could see that now his shoelaces were tightly knotted together. As soon as the older boy realized it, he looked around himself in shock, and Jimin fell onto his bed not to be noticed, an earthly laugh shaking his chest.</p>
<p>As soon as the laughter died, his stare turned into the direction of the two fairies, who were still fluctuating in the air in the center of his room, their mouths turned into soft smiles.</p>
<p>"You said he is part of the reasons why you were assigned to me?" Jimin asked, an eyebrow raised.</p>
<p>"Yes, well, there are many fairies, and they are assigned to kids who need them. Kids who struggle or are unhappy for some reasons or simple deserve them – of course, we were briefed on your situation, so we know you do not particularly like that boy, and as always, remember we are on your side" Yoongi explained, his arms crossed in front of his chest, but his composure friendly.</p>
<p>He was wearing a large cream sweater and black fitted jeans, his ears a collection of silver rings, while Hoseok’s jeans were of a denim color, with rips in them, and his graphic tee was partially covered by a light blue cardigan with wild flowers sewn all across it.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I mean, it is pretty unusual for teenagers to get a fairy godparent, but there is an abundance of good people looking for a position in fairy land right now – and many kids of all ages who need us, so it is happening more frequently lately" Hoseok shrugged.</p>
<p>"I have so many questions. So many" Jimin sat on the edge of his bed, barely able to contain his excitement.</p>
<p>"Oh, we’re sure you do, honey, but first of all, what about you just tell us a bit more about yourself? Oh, and does the dog and cat form work for you? I mean, we can turn into anything to move around with you, we can even stay human-looking but shrink in size, that’s just our preferred form" Yoongi came to sit on the bed too, propped against the pillows and the window, while Hoseok chose to lie mid-air, floating on his belly.</p>
<p>"I… I…" Jimin smiled, and tried to find something interesting to share. He would tell them a nice bit of his life that night, but throughout the entire conversation, he always had one thought in the forefront of his mind.</p>
<p>One thought that he did not mention, not once, maybe scared about jinxing it if he spoke about it, maybe jealous of how much it meant to him, or maybe simply because he needed to lay down a well-defined plan before he could speak about it with the two fairies.</p>
<p>The thought was the following: with the help of Yoongi and Hoseok, I’m finally going to be able to make Kim Taehyung fall in love with me.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The introduction of the fairies mimics the original one! You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYp3rpUHUYY&amp;t=219s">find it on YouTube</a> (min 2:20), it's pretty funny. Chapter 2 will be up in less than a week (and longer). All chapters have already been written!</p>
<p>  <em>I hope this fic will bring you a smile; remember that kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think!</em></p>
<p>I will post <strong>maaany moodboards and excerpts of upcoming chapters</strong> on my twitter so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm! ^u^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Fallingforyou</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Struggling high-school student and aspiring dancer Jimin has been magically blessed by the arrival of two fairy godparents, eager to grant his wishes. What will he ask for? Let's find out.</p>
<p>The chapter's title comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7LbUv7w2z7rEbNqp1uIL9U?si=2MQ6f5hLSpS9rebAK-_Ueg">Fallingforyou</a> by the 1975.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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<p> </p>
<p>Kim Taehyung. Where could Jimin start introducing Kim Taehyung?</p>
<p>He could start from his ridiculously shiny rich-brown hair, from his oh-so-cool double pierced ears, from his magnetic gaze or from his lips, that would surely be the death of him. The boy could mold them into the world’s cutest boxy smile one second and bite his bottom lip with an intensity that had Jimin mentally fainting the next.</p>
<p>He could start praising Kim Taehyung by talking about his appeal and charisma, that accompanied him everywhere he went. He could tell wonders about the time he saw him out of the school uniform, walking past him by chance in a supermarket: he was wearing a freaking leather jacket that made him look like an actor straight out of a 50s movie.</p>
<p>He could talk about just how good he was at everything – every single class, but without being considered a nerd, every single physical activity, but without being limited to the role of the jock, every social event, but without being seen as the vain popular guy. He could talk about his low-pitched, entrancing voice whose wishes Jimin would have gladly granted right away, no need for fairy godparents.</p>
<p>But he could also talk about the gentleness in this voice, the kindness in his actions and the friendliness of his demeanor. Jimin was fairly sure Taehyung had never done anything wrong in his life, and not only that, but despite being perfect in every matter and form, he was also incredibly well-behaved and easy-going at the same time. He was among the most popular people in school without having to brag about anything or try to maintain his status. Everyone knew about him but rather than hating on his popularity and spreading gossip, everyone would have liked to be his friend.</p>
<p>Jimin, for his part, was surely not the exception.</p>
<p>The first time he had properly talked with Taehyung had been a bit less than one year before, during a science lab class, the only class they shared – as Jimin sadly found out short after, when he started looking for the boy’s face in the classroom on a daily basis. Jimin had known about Taehyung, of course, he had heard his name here and there – the guy who had brought the school’s basketball team to victory, the guy who had helped raise funds for that important charitable project, the guy who had volunteer to present at the start-of-the-year ceremony and did so in the coolest way possible, the guy who was popular and friendly and cool.</p>
<p>During that fateful science lab class, the professor had decided to make the pairs himself to foster new collaborations and help the students get to know new faces, or maybe just to stop pairs of best friends from talking through the hour, so Jimin had been separated from his usual science partner and had switched places with Taehyung’s best friend, a boy named Jungkook, who was a year younger than them but already taking a few advanced classes. Of course, Taehyung’s friends were just as perfect as he was.</p>
<p>He had known about the boy, but talking to him, interacting with him for that class and for the few other ones involving that project had been a true God-sent revelation. Taehyung had been so… so… <em>perfect</em> in everything he did and said, in his shy but fond smile, in the occasional non-science-related questions and observations shared, and in the effortless way he proceeded through the steps, that when Jimin rose from his chair and left for his next class, he realized his heart was pounding in his chest.</p>
<p>Over the course of the week, he had realized without doubt that he was crushing on Taehyung. Once the realization had settled in, and he had welcomed it knowingly, already being fully conscious of his attraction for boys for years, things only got worse. While he had been able to follow through and help during the first session as a pair, he suddenly became too focused on the way words left Taehyung’s lips and the way his fingers moved around the vials to hear what he was saying, or follow the steps his hands were carrying through, for the rest of the project.</p>
<p>Once that was completed, and pairs were switched back to normal, Taehyung said his goodbyes in a friendly way and told Jimin that he would see him around. After that, the blonde boy’s eyes had managed to meet the brunette boy’s ones a couple of times in the corridors, and Taehyung had greeted him with a small wave of his hand, but that was it.</p>
<p>When the new school year started, and Jimin found that he once again shared one class – but only one class – with Taehyung, it seemed like they had fallen back into knowing the other person existed but without caring much about saying hello when they brushed past the other. Well, Jimin cared, but he did not want to be the only one to say it, so he tried to accept the reality of his new relation with Taehyung, waiting and hoping to be paired up for any group project for the class they shared this year, History.</p>
<p>And fate wanted them to have History class the day after Yoongi and Hoseok appeared in Jimin’s room.</p>
<p>Jimin woke up feeling rested and excited despite having spent hours thinking about how his plan would play out rather than sleeping. Hoseok and Yoongi had fallen asleep on his bed, curled one against the other as Jimin had first found them, but at some point during the night they must have moved to the big, fuzzy pet bed in the opposite corner of the room. Jimin found them there, the both of them opening their eyes slowly as the boy got on his feet and stretched, awakening every bone and joint in his body.</p>
<p>Seeing the two of them there truly was a relief, as the first thought that crossed Jimin’s mind in the morning was that it must had been a dream. But it wasn’t, it really wasn’t. As the boy was stretching his back and legs, Hoseok stretched his front paws too, earning an annoyed hiss from Yoongi, who had just been deprived of the warmth of the golden dog’s paws.</p>
<p>"Morning, Jimin. Are you ready for your first day with fairy godparents?" the pink-eyed cat asked as he got up and stretched his front legs too. Oh yes, he was ready.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>After a quick shower and putting on his clean uniform and his favorite rings with precision, Jimin lazily descended the steps to the living room and made for the kitchen, wearing – that was weird – his fairly godparents as a set of pins on the collar of his uniform jacket. Hoseok was an emerald pin ending in a gold-pleated star, and Yoongi a deep-pink pin with a golden crown on top. Jimin was the only one who could see the eyes and mouths on the pin, but not the only one who could hear them laughing and bickering and talking almost non-stop as if they were an old married couple – thus, the occasional shushing.</p>
<p>The encounter with his mom was weird, but not too much. Yoongi and Hoseok had explained to him how they had planted numerous signs subconsciously convincing his parents of the necessity to get Jimin pets for comfort and companionship, and then assumed animal form and enchanted them into picking them at the kennel. That was some manipulation, and Jimin intended to learn from it.</p>
<p>He thanked his mother for the thoughtful gift, assuring her he loved his new pets and that they would be likely to spend the rest of the day in his room and not make too much noise, but the fairies had assured Jimin that thanks to a particular enchantment his parents would not worry about the state of the dog and the cat. All was taken care of and perfectly fine, unless other people saw them in their fairy form.</p>
<p>In fact, if anyone found out Jimin had fairies, that would mean their almost-immediate disappearance and an erasure of Jimin’s memories of them. That was most certainly not going to happen under Jimin’s watch.</p>
<p>As he stepped into the school’s entrance hall, Jimin found out he was starting to sweat. He could not possibly sweat in this moment, not with all that was at stake. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and moved forward.</p>
<p>His ideal plan would have been to find Taehyung alone, but since he was going to ask for the wish before he actually saw him, he was not too disappointed when he found him leaning against the wall opposite to the History classroom and deeply engaged in a conversation with Jungkook. His brown hair and his golden skin seemed softer and clearer than ever, even from the distance. He had a cross body bag slouched over his right shoulder, his arms folded over his chest as his attention was totally focused on what his younger friend was saying.</p>
<p>Jimin had thought over and over on how to formulate his wish. He had read Harry Potter enough times to know that coercing someone into love was not a good idea, not only from a moral point of view but also thinking about the possible repercussions. So, Jimin had come up with what he thought to be an excellent idea.</p>
<p>First of all, he was going to explore the opportunity that Taehyung had felt something for him as well, as far-fetched as it seemed to be now that the moment to face him had come. After all, Jimin wasn’t brave enough to do something bold and stupid and risk his face, but he was more than willing to take risks if his godparents were backing him up – they were just the assurance he needed. Second of all, he was going to ask for something simpler in the opportunity that Taehyung had not felt the same interest for him the year before, something that was ethical but would still put him on the right track.</p>
<p>Jimin had stopped speaking with Hoseok and Yoongi the moment they crossed the school entrance doors. He still had much to ask them about wishes and about themselves specifically, but that could wait – this couldn’t. He drew in a sharp breath.</p>
<p>"Do you see that boy? The one with brown hair, facing our direction, talking to the one with black hair?" he whispered, trying to make certain his fairies were still there with him and chose the right target. He started approaching Taehyung from the opposite end of the corridor.</p>
<p>"Yes…" Hoseok said tentatively.</p>
<p>Here went nothing. He stalked towards the boy as his lips formed his carefully-thought wish in a stream of consciousness that made James Joyce turn in his grave.</p>
<p>"Alright, listen up. If Kim Taehyung ever crushed on me or showed any kind of romantic interest towards me, or in the unlikely occasion he still does, then I wish for him to let me know, well, not to be in love with me right now, but for him to still be crushing on me and be totally defenseless and in awe of me as I approach him and effortlessly put my arm around his shoulders in a few seconds. In that case, please have him look at me with heart eyes, just so that I know we are in the first-case scenario. If Kim Taehyung never crushed on me or showed any kind of romantic interest towards me, like ever, unfortunately, then please, I wish for him to accept my request of being my partner for the next History essay, maybe you can also have him tell me something nice he really thinks about me, I don’t know, if he ever thinks about me, you know, I hope he does, and in that case please don't have him turn towards me as I approach so I know we are talking of the second-case-scenario and I don’t make a fool of myself" Jimin ended abruptly without noticing he had been holding his breath for the entirety of the sentence.</p>
<p>It was just a matter of seconds now. Yoongi and Hoseok were going to shake their wands and maybe Taehyung was going to look at him like he liked hi-</p>
<p>"I’m sorry Jimin, but we can’t!" Hoseok shouted in a whisper.</p>
<p>"What?" Jimin mouthed, his lips moving as little as possible. He was getting dangerously close now. It was just a matter of seconds until the two boys noticed that he was walking towards them.</p>
<p>No, wait.</p>
<p>Taehyung had just turned his head towards Jimin. Fuck.</p>
<p>"We can’t! It goes against the rules!" Yoongi remarked.</p>
<p>"Oh Jimin... why didn’t you tell us about this before…" Hoseok started but now it was too late. It was too freaking late. Jimin stopped, a couple of meters short of Taehyung and Jungkook. Now the younger boy had turned to look at him as well, a curious look on his face.</p>
<p>Jimin cursed under his breath, trying to regain his composure. <em>What was he going to say?</em> He could not mess it up. He would not mess it up. Taehyung raised a perfect eyebrow.</p>
<p>"I was wondering -" the words died in his throat. He shook his head lightly, trying to fake confidence, as if he had totally meant to go and ask him something and just forgot about it for a moment. He was a good actor when he wanted to, and his voice did not tremble as he formulated the next sentence.</p>
<p>"Hi Taehyung, I’m Jimin, we were in the same science class last year and worked together on a project if I am not mistaken…" he surely was not mistaken, that far he knew.</p>
<p>"Yes, how can I help you?" there was no arrogance in his tone but Jimin felt his knees shake anyways.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, I have heard that there is this important History essay coming up, something worth 30% of the grade, give or take, and I don’t have a partner yet – my <em>numerous</em> friends are not taking this class, you know... Anyway, since we worked well together last year I was thinking we could pair up, if you did not arrange for it with anyone else already"</p>
<p>Saying that they worked well together last year was a bit of a stretch considering Taehyung had done most of the job and Jimin had admired him moving stuff around, but what else could he say? Ask for indications for the toilet? Pretend he had mistaken him for someone else?</p>
<p>Firstly, no one mistaken Kim Taehyung for someone else. Secondly, that was what he wanted to ask anyway, and the only way not embarrass himself more than he already had. Not that he would have ever approached Taehyung to ask him, had he thought his fairies were going to stand him up. It was Jimin's way to avoid rejection and hurt - he never put himself in the conditions to be rejected or hurt in the first place. And it usually worked extraordinarily well. He should have stuck with his life motto.</p>
<p>Jimin was pretty sure Jungkook was in their same class. Maybe, the three of them could form a group and then Jungkook could catch a light cold or something – if that was allowed by the rules, of course. Jimin was going to ask for a thorough lesson that night.</p>
<p>The good thing was that Jungkook looked more puzzled than Taehyung, at least.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well… - the brown-haired boy started off, casting a glance to his friend. – We hadn’t really thought about it yet, but I guess you can join Jungkook and me, maybe another couple of people depending on how big the groups need to be?" he offered.</p>
<p>"Don’t worry about it, I get you’re bus-" wait. Had he said yes? <em>DID HE SAY YES?</em> And had he just answered <em>DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT?</em></p>
<p>Jimin found himself scratching the back of his head, his eyes focused on an interesting tile on the floor. He had thought he had made it smoothly somehow and now he had just messed it up, awesome.</p>
<p>"…I meant, that’s great, see you in class then" he shook his head as he casted a last glance at Tae and smiled a little, waving his hand in the direction of the classroom. He turned around. He started walking towards the door.</p>
<p>"See you, and thanks for the heads-up!" he heard Taehyung calling after him, as Jungkook chuckled lightly.</p>
<p>Had he just done something very bold or something very embarrassing? Or both? He couldn’t really tell, he was just grateful for being far from Taehyung now that his face had turned completely red.</p>
<p>There was no further interaction with Taehyung that day, but the History professor announced that the upcoming group essay would be worth the expected 30% of the grade, and explained how the work needed to be structured. It sounded like a very long and tedious job, and since there was plenty of research to do, the professor wanted it done in groups of 3 to 4 people, to test their teamwork as well as their knowledge and skills. The groups were going to start working the following week, after he was done explaining the historical period the essay was going to draw from.</p>
<p>Jimin thought that, maybe, he could look back to where Taehyung and Jungkook were seated and give them an affirmative nod as a normal soon-to-be essay partner would, but he was too embarrassed to think about any possible reaction on part of the other boy. At the same time though, he felt a giddy happiness rise from the depth of his chest. The situation was not ideal, but it was the best he could have ever hoped for without fairies as godparents.</p>
<p>About such godparents, the two of them stood pinned into place and weirdly quiet for the rest of the school day, possibly interested in the subjects Jimin was taking or maybe simply trying to avoid conversation with him after the fiasco of the morning.</p>
<p>It was only when Jimin got home safely and had closed the door to his room, that the two pins wiggled away from his collar, jumped into the air and assumed the form of pixie-sized Hoseok and Yoongi in a cloud of light, sparkly purple dust.</p>
<p>They looked at him. He looked at them. They looked at each other.</p>
<p>"Jimin… we’re so sorry - Yoongi started – we should have told you about all the rules before, but it’s usually very boring and we didn’t think you would ask for something like that straight away and with no chance for us to explain the rule to you after…"</p>
<p>"But think positively, he said yes!" Hoseok offered, pirouetting in mid-air.</p>
<p>"And rules aside… why didn’t you tell us about this boy last night? Nothing about him was on your godchild-to-be file, we had no clue…" Yoongi offered pitiful expression that faded into a sweet smile.</p>
<p>Jimin rolled his eyes, but he was happy to see their interest in the matter and rejoiced in the fact they were not judging him in the slightest for liking boys as well as girls, so he could not hold back a big, slightly embarrassed smile as he plopped gracefully onto his bed.</p>
<p>"I don’t know… I guess I was afraid of jinxing it… turns out I did just that" he groaned.</p>
<p>"Oh honey, don’t say things like this! He was so adorable! And nice! He said yes!" Hoseok appeared in his vision field, lying in the air above him, a big heart-shaped smile on his face.</p>
<p>"Yeah well but now I don’t have any assurances, I’m just going to make a fool out of myself by staring at him and not being able to focus when we’ll have to do the work… and between having Taehyung think I’m stupid and not remembering my existence, I choose the second option" Jimin picked one of his pillows and covered his face with it, sighing his frustration into the soft cotton cover.</p>
<p>"Nahhhh, I don’t think you will. And we will be there for you to help you with allowed wishes, you know" Yoongi’s voice came through.</p>
<p>"Also, sincere congratulations on the wish, Jimin. I mean, it was not allowed by the rules but that was a hell of a wish…" Hoseok giggled.</p>
<p>"Shut up!" Jimin threw the pillow at him, but found himself chuckling too. The pillow hit Hoseok in the face and Yoongi laughed as well.</p>
<p>"Hey!" he protested, and sent it back with the same precision.</p>
<p>Was that the beginning of a pillow fight? Jimin was not sure he wanted to compete with people who could materialize objects out of nowhere. He held the pillow to his chest and sat up on the bed, his expression turning serious.</p>
<p>"About the wish, can you tell me which rules I infringed? And maybe a bit about other rules I should know?"</p>
<p>"Well, we appreciate your carefully-worded wish not to coerce that boy into loving you, but “<em>godchildren cannot wish to interfere with or create true love in any form</em>”, even in the case the person whose love you would want once felt something from you" with a wiggle of Yoongi’s wand, the rule book that had hit Jimin in the head the night before appeared and its pages turned until the ones showing the no-love-wishes rule.</p>
<p>"And to be fair, “<em>godchildren cannot wish or use magic to win competitions, get good grades or participate in cheating in any way</em>”, so, like, you could ask to be super-intelligent but that intelligence would vanish the moment you sit in front of a test, so we could not really grant your wish to be partners with Taehyung. Since he apparently does so well in school, it would be a bit like cheating – we weren’t sure, we needed to check, but you didn’t give us the time…" Hoseok explained in a soft tone, the pages of the book turning. Jimin sighed.</p>
<p>"Any other rule I better know of?"</p>
<p>"Apart from the obvious – at least I hope so – no killing or seriously injuring other people, we have already mentioned the most important one to you but I think another glance at it can do no harm" the book turned to the first page at a signal from Hobi’s wand. </p>
<p>"“<em>When a godchild reveals the existence of their fairies, they and any other witnesses shall have their memories wiped by Jorgen</em> (that’s like the fairy police!) <em>and his agents and their fairies and magical items they have come in contact will be taken away by Jorgen. However, if Jorgen doesn't find out, he can't take the godchild's fairies away, or if the witnesses understand how much the fairies means to the godchild, then said child can keep them under conditions that the witnesses have their memories erased</em>” and to complete this, I want to add the following: “<em>Fairies only grant wishes to miserable children of the dominant species of Earth. If the godchild for whatever reason becomes cheerful or the godchild says, "I'm happy and don't need my godparents anymore" the fairies will leave them and search for another miserable child”,</em> not that I wish for it to happen anytime soon but you ought to know" Hoseok’s wand instructed the book to close.</p>
<p>"Are there any other kids around school with fairy godparents?" Jimin asked, curiosity taking the best of him.</p>
<p>"There may be, there may not be. We cannot tell you. You may be more likely to detect signs that reveal the presence of a fairy now, and if you do, be careful not to be too loud about it so that Jorgen does not come take them away. If anyone finds out about us like that, make them promise not to tell anyone and not to do anything about it, especially if they don’t have godparents themselves. But in general, godparents cannot tell their godchild what other kids have fairies, you have to find out on your own, even though… mh… I’m not sure about wishing to know if a specific person has fairies… I need to read the rules again, it’s been literal ages" Hoseok scratched the back of his head.</p>
<p>"Anything else? A lot of new rules got introduced after a kid named Timmy Turner started wishing for the oddest things and caused disruption in fairy land, so feel free to ask…" offered Yoongi, sitting crossed-leg on the floor.</p>
<p>"Not for now, I’m okay, I think… I need to do some History reading and relax a bit, it’s been a long day and I have dance practice all afternoon tomorrow. You can do whatever you want. After maybe bringing me some peach iced tea? If that’s not too much to ask, I wish for peach iced tea?" Jimin asked with a pearly smile, holding his hands together.</p>
<p>"Of course not" Hobi laughed lightly and with a peck of his wand a tall glass of iced tea materialized into Jimin’s hands. Oh, he could get used to this. Give him a couple of days to get used to magic, and every Saturday would turn into spa day in his room. Sauna, massage, hydro-massage, mud masks… the fairies could join too, if they wanted.</p>
<p>"But remember the most important rule: no breakfast wishes allowed after 10:30!" Hobi added with glee.</p>
<p>"That’s not a rule" Yoongi intervened.</p>
<p>"Of course it is! - protested Hoseok – it is the most important one, in my opinion!"</p>
<p>"I know the rule book like the inside of my pockets and the curls on your head, it is not" Yoongi sent him a challenging stare.</p>
<p>"Let’s see then" Hoseok could barely contained his smile as the rule book appeared again at his command and it opened on a random page, a magnifying glass materializing shortly after to make visible a rule scribbled in small characters at the end of the page: <em>no breakfast wishes after 10:30.</em></p>
<p>"What a stupid rule, only you could remember that. It must have been added recently after some idiot made stupid wishes" Yoongi scoffed, clearly hurt in his pride.</p>
<p>"Still, I was right, and you could admit that, Mr. I-know-all-the-rules-and-you-should-go-back-to-fairy-school-for-another-millennia" Hobi crossed his arms but his tone was playful, clearly enjoying being right over Yoongi. Before the pink-haired guy could answer, Jimin intervened.</p>
<p>"What’s up with you bickering like an old married couple all day anyways? I could barely listen to my music this morning for all the fuss you were making" he asked, one eyebrow raised and looking curiously from one to the other.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, maybe because<em> we are</em> an old married couple" Yoongi was quick to answer.</p>
<p>"Now that I think about it, we’ve been married for what, Yoongi-ah? Half of our fairy lives?" Hobi looked at him curiously.</p>
<p>"Maybe half of yours, cause you’re so young, but almost half of mine I would say" he could not avoid teasing him but returned the glance just as softly.</p>
<p>Jimin was left speechless. Not only did they support him, but apparently, they had been married for half their lives as well? That was too good to be true.</p>
<p>"I can’t believe it, but now that you say it, it makes so much sense. You guys are too cute" he shook his head in disbelief.</p>
<p>"Be careful how you talk to us, we have been around for three thousand years – or well, I have, he has been around for two thousands seven hundreds and fifty eight" Yoongi scoffed in a playful tone.</p>
<p>"How long do fairies live?"</p>
<p>"Depends, but most for many millennia. Training at the fairy school for fairy godparents itself lasts around one thousand years, and trust me no one wants to go back there, so we better behave, and always keep an eye on our wands and rule books. Even if it the school is where I met Yoongi, so I will always have a good memory of it… despite Jorgen" Hoseok mimicked cutting his own head off, a clearly unwelcome memory forming in his mind.</p>
<p>Well, they may have been three thousand years old, but they didn’t look a day over twenty-five.</p>
<p>"That’s probably the most incredible thing I have ever heard in my life, and I want to know everything about it tonight, fairy school gossip included; but now I better go see what History’s been all about before I make an even bigger fool of myself" Jimin's mood changed quickly as he made for his desk, casting a quick glance at the clock on the wall. He needed to be prepared on this topic. He generally did okay in History, but this time he needed to excel, as focusing was already going to be hard enough once Taehyung was in front of him.</p>
<p>"Cuddles?" he heard Yoongi ask behind him.</p>
<p>"Say no more" Hobi offered.</p>
<p>When Jimin’s eyes wondered to the pet bed beside him, he found the golden dog and the black cat resting peacefully, curled one against the other. The dog’s tail laid gently on the cat’s back and the cat purred calmly, softly enough Jimin could barely hear him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The rules come from the actual Fairly Oddparents rules! I spent several minutes, several times, on the Fairly Oddparents Wiki for such research purposes. Breakfast rule included. Taehyung and Jungkook are meant to mirror Trixie and Veronica, if we assume that Jimin is Timmy, but they are way nicer and smarter. </p>
<p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think!</em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter</strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm! see ya on friday ^u^</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Heartbreak Weather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jimin's elaborate wish for Taehyung's consideration goes wrong, but the boy unexpectedly accepts to partner up with him for the History essay. Jimin learns more about the rules. Let's see how the essay starts off and how Jimin's life goes, shall we?</p><p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3jf3c9EOFam6Q15sho0XWw?si=cbN7TZG-RW-0BA-OGugqXw">Heartbreak Weather</a> by Niall Horan.<br/></p>
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<hr/><p>Two weeks had passed since the History professor had introduced the group essay, and Jimin had already met Jungkook and Taehyung to discuss it twice. One time he even managed to sit next to the brunette, while the other the younger boy had sat in the middle.</p><p>Not much to recount about the meetings though, as Jimin had been mostly star-struck and contributed by being assertive through both of them. Jungkook had taken the reins of the discussion and laid down most of the work structure; Jimin had to admit that boy’s attitude and energy were impressive.</p><p>Generally speaking, having Hoseok and Yoongi help him with the little stuff at school and at home had helped him a great deal. Not only did he feel more relaxed and focused (the first spa day was a total success), but he also felt more happy and positive about his life. Still, the introduction of magical remedies had done nothing to cure the way Taehyung made him feel, and this was the issue, but Jimin doubted it ever could.</p><p>Thanks to this new outlook on life, or maybe thanks to Namjoon’s redoubled effort, Jimin had even managed to get a couple of discrete grades in maths and physics. Maybe it was Hobi and Yoongi pinned to his sweaters, making little jokes or whispering little encouragements through his tutoring classes, that urged him to stay focused; maybe it was something else, but whatever it was, it seemed to be working.</p><p>And if it worked long enough, Jimin might even be able to start thinking about the long-term picture, about his life after high school coming right up in one year and a half. But for now, his attention was all on the present.</p><p>His attitude at the dance school had not changed much, as dance was the only thing he had been able to give his 100% to even before the fairies showed up. If anything, he was more relaxed when he practiced at home and the fact that Yoongi could make his room as big as a dance studio with mirror walls and excellent lighting really helped him exercise. Sometimes Hoseok joined in at the end of his more serious practice time, trying out some moves with him. He was really good, his joints surprisingly flexible, but Jimin recommended he tried out something more modern and hip-hop than contemporary ballet. He had a feeling it would suit him better.</p><p>The third History group meeting was scheduled for that very early afternoon, as Jimin had dance practice at 4:30, but the boys had kindly agreed to meet beforehand at the public library. Luckily for Jimin, that was not too far from the dance school – not that he wasn’t going to ask for extra-quick roller blades to his fairy godparents anyway.</p><p>He got to the library at 2 sharp, making for the study room they had already used the time before, thankfully mostly empty at this time of the year. He usually did not put too much thought in how he dressed to go to practice – surely, it needed to be stylish and easy to take off and put on once he got to the changing rooms, but a simple casual outfit adorned with a trendy jacket and boots usually did the job. This time though, he chose to keep his rings on, wear an extra necklace, and put on a high-neck light grey sweater and a pair of skinny black jeans that he knew for a fact made his legs look really good. With the approval of Hoseok, he chose a pair of cool-cut sunglasses he had got for his birthday the previous year, even if the sky was cloudy, and dabbed a generous amount of cherry chapstick on his lips. He completed the look with a nice everyday coat that would protect him well from the chilly air.</p><p>He knew he could be considered a good-looking guy with a pleasant enough face, the issue was that all his confidence melted away whenever he set eyes on Taehyung.</p><p>That afternoon was the first time he was going to properly meet the boy out of his school uniform, as the previous two times they had come to the library straight from school, and he wanted to look his best. Yoongi had somehow found out the boy’s favorite cologne – Jimin did not want to ask how – and materialized a small bottle of the same for him.</p><p>All things considered, his fairy godparents were very supportive of Jimin’s love mission now that they knew all the details about his crush – maybe they were even too supportive and out-there, as just a couple of days before Jimin had found a massive banner saying <strong>TAE-MIN 4EVER</strong> with hearts and doodles attached to an entire wall of his room. Hand-painted, also.</p><p>"What do you think?" Yoongi had asked.</p><p>"Go big or go home, I say" Hobi had added, and the banner had stayed on the wall till Jimin got scared his parents might walk in and think he had gone crazy.</p><p>Jimin walked in an empty study room and settled down at the head of the table by the window, knowing that this way he was going to be the one in the middle. He shrugged his jacket off, and had just gotten his textbooks and notepad out when he saw Jungkook and Taehyung coming in.</p><p>Jimin thought Taehyung was going to be more on the classic rockstar aesthetic given that time he had met him in the supermarket, but the different style he sported left him at a loss for words. He was wearing a long camel coat, a high-neck and loose black sweater tucked in a pair of clean, well-ironed straight black pants down to his calves, and a pair of formal black shoes not too different from the ones he wore at school. A scarf hung loosely from his left hand, where a brown leather bag surely carried his books. Jimin’s favorite part of the outfit was surely the hat though, a beret of the same color of the coat, that left only two loose strands of hair emerge at the sides of his face. If he had a sketchbook in his hands, he would have looked like a chic art university major, but he was a 17-years-old kid in his casual clothing.</p><p>Who gave him the right to look like that? To dress like that? On the bright side, they surely would have made an aesthetic coupl-</p><p>"Hi!" Taehyung greeted him with a boxy smile as he approached, letting his bag fall on one of the chairs and taking the place at Jimin’s left.</p><p>"Oh, hello guys!" Jimin greeted both of them with a smile, concentrating to give some attention to Jungkook as well. He was wearing a leather jacket and something else. Pin-Hoseok giggled something and Jimin swatted him silent.</p><p>Once they were comfortably settled in and had exchanged a bit of small talk about how tedious the last History class had been, it was time for them to start their research.</p><p>In the two previous meetings, they had outlined the steps of their work, and now it was time to collect the material – find the books, find the passages, copy them down, assemble them, re-elaborate them, make them coherent, divide the paragraphs, add their own analysis… maybe it was going take longer than anticipated, but for once Jimin was not going to complain about it. It was also time for the blonde boy to take control of the situation and show he wasn’t there only for the longing (and hopefully unnoticed) stares.</p><p>"I have done a bit of the recommended extra readings, and from what I gather we should start by looking at old textbooks because that’s definitely where Mr Bang gets most of his notes from, so he will surely appreciate some scholastic references" he offered. Taehyung responded with a side-way smile.</p><p>"That’s a good idea, I’m going to check the History section at large to see just what kind of material on the topic we can gather, but I hope there is enough we can avoid internet sources because I have been told the professor loathes them" he explained.</p><p>"I think it could also be useful to see if there are any books or diaries written by contemporaries on the subject – there probably won’t be many articles because the archives are not much good here; but since we are talking about less than a century ago, maybe there’s some thoughts of local contemporaries we can use for citations" Jungkook offered, his hands adding emphasis to his words. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, you could be sure he was going to say just the right thing.</p><p>"Isn't that a bit of a stretch?" Taehyung asked.</p><p>"Yeah, it is, but trust me - I've had Mr Bang almost every year and he goes crazy over this kind of stuff"</p><p>"Oh, nice, we know how to get in his good graces, then" Jimin intervened.</p><p>"I definitely need to, after he saw some sketches of teachers I made - including him. But can you blame me? Three lines, it's all it takes. He's a good teacher, but his classes last way too long, and I need to keep myself occupied" Jungkook was quick to explain, but Jimin wasn't sure he had understood.</p><p>The younger boy grabbed a pen from his case and drew three swift lines across the bottom of his notepad. When he held it up, Jimin had to bite his lip not too laugh, but Taehyung snorted - like, actually, full-on snorted, making a weird choking sound that earned him a deadly stare from the librarian in the corner. </p><p>Two dots for eyes (or glasses), a cut-off side-ways U for his nose. The resemblance was startling. </p><p>"That's some artistic skills, for sure" Jimin conceded, happy to know he wasn't the only one to find Mr Bang's classes a bit tedious from time to time. He knew Jungkook liked to draw - he had seen small doodles and drawings occasionally falling out of his books; he only hoped the boy had other ways to showcase his talent.</p><p>After a few seconds, Taehyung managed to compose himself, and with that, they were off to look for the material. Jimin’s hands brushed the cover of the scholastic textbooks section, looking for the authors the professor had quoted in class.</p><p>"You know we can’t have Jungkook injured and I hope you don’t want anything bad to happen to that sweet boy, but we can totally make it so that something comes up and next time it’s only you and your boy" Hoseok whispered from his place on Jimin’s sweater.</p><p>"A Tae-min only event, baby" Yoongi added. Jimin chuckled.</p><p>"Of course I want that to happen, but I need to be careful… to know that he actually likes being with me. Also, we have way too much work to do now – we need Jungkook’s brain. Maybe later on" he shrugged.</p><p>"Mh… okay" Hoseok conceded.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I just didn’t take you for Mr-academic-achievements-above-all. C’mon, you’re not bad in History, you two could manage for once" he whined.</p><p>"Yeah, I - Jimin paused for a second as he found one of the textbooks he had been looking for – I just want to make sure he is not completely repulsed by me, you know?"</p><p>"And what better way to find out than to have the two of you alone?" Hoseok persisted.</p><p>"Then maybe the librarian can accidentally lock you in for the night…" Yoongi suggested.</p><p>"Guys, I really appreciate your somewhat-romantic ideas and I promise I’m going to follow through on them eventually, but I can’t risk messing this up like I almost did in the corridors. I… - here went nothing – I don’t even know if he likes boys to begin with. And I’m not sure I could handle a straight-forward rejection, so I need to look at the long game" he piled up the two other textbooks he needed on top of the first one and made for the study room. He had intended for the last two sentences to come out as simple and matter-of-factly, but his voice had shaken.</p><p>"Oh, Jimin…"</p><p>"Don’t worry, the important thing is that he likes you, and what’s there not to like?"</p><p>Jimin smiled at this, but it was only a half-smile, the other half disappeared under the worries that had just surfaced. He tried to send them in the back of his brain again with a soft shake of his head. Focus.</p><p>Focus.</p><p>The following hour passed by incredibly quickly, and by the time Jimin’s 4:10 alarm rang, they were not as far as he hoped they would be.</p><p>They had found enough material to draw a good bibliography from, but going through all that was going to take several afternoons more. They had agreed to meet for an hour and a half, maybe two, but from the concentrated look on Jimin’s project partners’ faces, turning into a confused one as his alarm clock pierced the silence, it seemed like Taehyung and Jungkook had every intention of going on for a bit. Jimin suddenly felt guilty.</p><p>"I’m so sorry, I know we should probably go on for another bit but I have to run off. I will check this one out and finish reading through the chapter tonight so I’m not behind next time. I’m really sorry-"</p><p>"Where do you have to go?" asked Jungkook with curiosity, stretching his back and arms.</p><p>"Dance class. Well, ballet class. Contemporary ballet" Jimin would have never hidden his passion for dance, but at the same time he wanted it to sound as cool and sophisticated as it could.</p><p>"You dance?" asked Taehyung, an eyebrow raised, his eyes following Jimin’s arms as he put on his jacket. He was biting on the lid of his pen absent-mindedly. Damn him.</p><p>"Yeah, I dance - I mean, I’ve been doing it for more than half of my life now, it’s the thing I like doing the most"</p><p>"How come you never performed at any of the school’s talent shows?" the question was coming, again, from Taehyung. Jimin kind-of froze in his place as his hand was reaching the closing strap of his bag.</p><p>Their school had a long-standing tradition of talent shows, well-known among pupils and families, with at least two shows per year and guaranteed glory if you pleased the public. The strangest and most peculiar arts and crafts were put on display with solemnity for the other students, parents and teachers, and Jimin had been shocked when he had found out it was not as common in most schools.</p><p>Wait. Wait a second.</p><p>Did this mean Taehyung could actually remember he never performed? Did he want to see him perform?</p><p>Wait again – did he think Jimin was not good enough to perform, maybe?</p><p>"I don’t know… I guess I never saw the point of doing it – he answered plainly, because that was the truth – In the end, I dance for myself and I dance for people to be enchanted by the art of music and body together. I could do the school talent or reunion, but it’s not something I personally need to do, and I’m not sure there would be anyone there to really appreciate it or simply be genuinely interested in it, so… well, I don’t" he shrugged it off.</p><p>"I would be interested in it"</p><p> </p><p>Earth to Jimin.</p><p> </p><p>Earth to Jimin.</p><p> </p><p>"Earth to Jimin!" Yoongi’s voice rang in his ears.</p><p>He suddenly realized he had been stuck on the spot for something between two seconds and twenty minutes, staring at Taehyung with his mouth agape.</p><p>"Yeah, it could be a much-needed break from the same bunch of people abusing poor innocent instruments while managing not to hit a single note for three minutes straight" Jungkook chimed in, his eye-roll loud and clear.</p><p>"Well then, I’ll keep it in mind" he managed to find eight words in the back of his throat, or maybe Hoseok commanded them to come out of his mouth, Jimin didn’t know.</p><p>"Bye guys, and talk to you tomorrow for the next meeting"</p><p>"Bye!"</p><p>"See you"</p><p>And with a quick wave and a smile Jimin was off, out of the increasingly warm study room into the main library hall and, in another couple minutes, out into the chilly mid-afternoon air.</p><p>"WhatthefuckdidhejustsayhewouldliketoseemedanceordidIimagineit"</p><p>"Well, he said he would be interested in watching you perform at the talent show" Yoongi reminded him.</p><p>"So yeah, he basically said that" the fairy added.</p><p>"Jimin. You’re nice. You're doing well. Keep going" the blonde boy patted himself on the shoulder, a big smile eating up most of his face.</p><p>"That’s our boy!" shouted Hobi.</p><p>"Your boy wishes for a pair of roller skates, please. And can you have this book materialize in my room?" he giggled as he descended the steps of the library. Two seconds after, the wheeled shoes appeared at his feet, the book vanished from his grip, and he was off to the dance school, rejoicing in the cold air on his face.</p><p>---</p><p>Jimin spent the rest of the afternoon with a sense of peaceful happiness stirring inside him.</p><p>The only reason why he could focus during dance class and not run over and over the events of the previous hour in his mind was the thought of the next school talent show and what he was going to be able to show Taehyung – because he really didn’t care much about the rest of the school. Practice went extraordinarily well, all the moves and steps smooth and precise.</p><p>He couldn’t imagine the way his mood would shift as soon as he came home.</p><p>He had spent the whole way back gossiping and chatting with Hoseok and Yoongi, whom he was determined to find a couple name for, since they were getting obsessed with calling him and Taehyung “Tae-min”. Hoseok had many nicknames, but Yoongi hadn't shared any of his yet... Yoonseok, maybe? The jury was still open.</p><p>When he got home, he went straight to shower, then he unpacked his bag and threw the sweaty practice clothes in the laundry basket. He checked that the History textbook borrowed from the library had appeared on his desk and went downstairs for supper.</p><p>It was not unusual for his parents to be quiet over dinner, they weren’t really talkative and his dad was especially tired at the end of the work day, but that night the usual silence among them had a different quality to it. It was tense, electric. He imagined it coming from a quarrel of some kind between the two of them, but when he set down his bowl of soup, he found out differently.</p><p>"We received a call from your math teacher"</p><p>"You <em>what</em>?"</p><p>"Your math teacher called us"</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"He… he is worried about you, Jimin" his mother offered.</p><p>"What do you mean he is worried about me? And why would he call you personally to say that?" his grip on the bowl tightened.</p><p>Since when did teachers directly call parents to give them updates on their students? He wasn’t even doing bad lately – he had gotten two discreetly good grades in the past weeks. He was slowly, but steadily trying to get on track.</p><p>"Don’t take it personally – his father intervened – When we talked with him at the last teacher-parent conference, we exchanged telephone numbers just in case there was ever the necessity of talking with each other or asking for a further meeting, since your situation was not the brightest. He told us he usually does this, to be always available for struggling students"</p><p>"Well then excuse me if I take it <em>very</em> personally?" he almost shouted.</p><p>His father and his mother exchanged a dubious glance.</p><p>"What did he want to talk with you about, anyway?"</p><p>"He… he told us that he is worried about your current situation, and simply wanted to make sure we are getting you some extra-curricular help with the subject, and he wanted to inform us of your grades, it’s nothing much…" his mother explained.</p><p>"I don’t understand – why would he say that? I’ve been trying so hard, I’ve been getting fairly good marks and now he just called you out of the blue to say something like that, like all of my efforts-" Jimin’s struggled to find words, and without understanding why, he felt the back of his eyes tickle with tears.</p><p>"Not in the last written test, unfortunately. He called us as he had just finished correcting them, and you are far from a passing grade once again. He was simply worried because he thought you had started to do better and now it looks like you haven’t understood the assignment, so he wanted to make sure…" his mother’s words got lost as Jimin’s failed to understand what was so thoughtful and careful about his professor’s behavior.</p><p>Couldn’t he just meet Jimin after class? Talk to him about it? Did he think he would not be mature enough to manage it? Maybe if he cared to explain what Jimin did wrong instead of calling his parents to tell them he sucks so much, things would have been better for some time. Since when did teacher call parents personally to snitch on their pupils’ failures, anyway?</p><p>Jimin had never really liked his Maths’ teacher, but since no other student seemed to complain about him particularly, he always thought that his hardship with Mathematics was his fault only. Now the thought that maybe his professor was not the most helpful and competent of the school crept up. Maybe professors were actually supposed to help students through their mistakes? Maybe.</p><p>"Jimin?" his father’s voice called him back to the kitchen.</p><p>"Yes?" he felt a wave of anger rush through him and thought that maybe it would be simply better to say nothing and go back to his room before he risked lashing out to his professor and by mistake, drag his parents into the mess because he knew they would not understand him. He felt cat-Yoongi settled beneath his feet, rubbing against his leg soothingly.</p><p>"Trust me, your happiness and fulfillment are in your mother and I’s best interest. We do not want to make this permanent. But, we were wondering, since you actually showed some progress, and it looks like it is not an impossible task to tackle, wouldn’t it be better to tone down dance practice for a while to focus on school?"</p><p>What Jimin felt in that moment cannot easily be described, but it was something close to hearing a close friend had died.</p><p>"You can’t… you don’t… you don’t understand. I don’t understand why would he… you can’t take this away from me" he shook his head helplessly, his eyes wondering from his father to his mother but ultimately setting on his mum.</p><p>"Please"</p><p>"Jimin, trust me, we don’t want to – she reached out a hand to him, over the table, but he didn’t reach back – We were just considering it as an option in case things do not get better. You need to understand… dance can wait for just a bit, this school year can’t. Honey, we are just trying to do what is best for you"</p><p>"You are the ones that don’t understand that taking dance away from me won’t make school better<em> in the slightest"</em> his voice was rough, but not too harsh.</p><p>"Consider it as a future possibility, then. Give it a month, maybe less. If in a month, things are not settled at school, we will have to have this discussion again, but in more concrete terms" his father settled down his empty glass of wine.</p><p>Jimin wanted to say many things. He wanted to tell them just how much taking away his only real comfort, something that had always been there for him, would have only made <em>everything</em> dramatically worse. He wanted to tell them about the progress he had made in three subjects at the same time, he wanted to remind them about all the classes he was doing fairly well in, he wanted to call them out for talking about him with his teachers behind his back. He wanted to tell them that he was thinking about prospects and options for his life after school – but was he?</p><p>In front of his parents, it always seemed like too much. Like they understood too much and he understood too little. The fear of disappointing them was too much.</p><p>So, instead, he just stood from his chair and settled his napkin on the table. He could hear Hoseok and Yoongi pacing around his feet beneath him, the golden dog’s tail brushing his leg affectionately.</p><p>"I will call Namjoon and ask him for an extra session during the weekends, if he can. Now if you will excuse me…" he trailed off, not really needing an answer, and in a few seconds, he had walked to the entrance and closed the front door behind him.</p><p>He didn’t have a jacket on and could feel the winter night hair tickling the skin beneath his chunky sweater, but he hoped it would help him clear his mind as he started walking down the street.</p><p>Jimin could feel Yoongi and Hoseok behind him, the dog occasionally sneaking up in front of him and getting a few steps ahead but always coming back after a quick exploration.</p><p>He was glad that they hadn’t tried to speak to him. Maybe they felt his need to just stay silent for a while, not really to think about anything but simply to let the chilly night air in his lungs and the black sky wash over him and take all the bad feelings out with a gentle wave. Maybe it came with their job, but he felt like they understood him better than certain people who had been beside him for most of his life. From the first second.</p><p>He had almost taken a complete stroll around his block, mostly made up of one-family suburban two-stories houses with nice front gardens, clean slate sidewalks and big trees shielding the road in the middle from the sun during the day. As he came around the last corner, he decided to take another walk in the opposite direction, the one he would have taken if he had wanted to get to the city center on foot.</p><p>There, the residential houses still occupied the view for a while, but eventually he would have reached a small supermarket, a church, the library, and then the closest commercial area. He felt like he wanted to talk with Yoongi and Hoseok now. He preferred to interact with them in their human form, even a shrunk-down one, but he knew it was too dangerous for them to be like that in the open, so he settled for a conversation with his pets.</p><p>As he was starting to think about a decent conversation-opener after the mortifying scene they had just witnessed, a strong scent reached his nose.</p><p>"Is that…" he stopped in his tracks, pausing to sniff at the air better.</p><p>"Yes, it most definitely is" Yoongi's voice answered.</p><p>"But as your fairy godparents we should not really be a part of any of this" Hobi intervened.</p><p>"So, it isn’t what you think it is, my sweet summer child" the other fairy added.</p><p>"Wait, wait, I didn’t say I wanted some… even if maybe I do… I just wonder who would be smoking a joint in the open air in this respectable neighborhood, that’s all" Jimin started walking again, his eyes scanning the openings between houses and fences on his right.</p><p>His curiosity did not need to be held back for long, because as the hedges of the next house came into view, so came the silhouette of a figure behind them, a cloud of smoke trailing up the edge of the bush. Jimin stopped and stared.</p><p>"Please don’t tell me you are considering it"</p><p>"I know he is not considering it"</p><p>…</p><p>"Are you considering it?"</p><p>Jimin’s eyes scanned the figure but he could not recognize it. Not that he knew many people around the neighborhood, and he didn’t think he knew the ones living in that house, but had he recognized a boy from a garage sale or a school club, maybe he would have taken advantage of the situation.</p><p>"Well yeah, that would be the last straw for my parents not only to have an excuse to stop me dancing but to lock me in my room altogether – he scoffed – let’s just head back home, I’m starting to feel cold" he turned on the heel of his feet, his eyes still casting a side-away glance at the figure.</p><p>He guessed it would not be ethical for him to ask his godparents for some – would they even be allowed to conjure it? It probably was against the rules. And if no one had tried it yet, maybe he could be the one to cause a new rule to be scribbled at the margin of the book. After all, wasn’t catnip the same thing for Yoongi?</p><p>Whatever.</p><p>The only thing he really wanted to do at the moment, he thought, was lay down in his bed and fold the covers around him. As his pace became quicker, he felt a warm coat materialize over his shoulders and wrap itself around him gently.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A brief note: the fic is Jimin centric, so it is normal not to know much about Tae's perspective, but it will come out in later chapters. (A brief rambling: bts ao3 tags reposted my fic and the hits/kudos/bookmarks spiked up, thank you thank you thank you i'm so freaking happy!!)</p><p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... pretty please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think!</em></p><p><strong> I have posted edits, character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter</strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p><p>thank you! see you on tuesday for a very ... interesting ... chapter :3</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Love Man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The History group work is underway, and Jimin resumes his acquaintance-level relationship with Taehyung. The idea of performing at the school talent show comes up, but when Jimin gets home, his parents give him an ultimatum: a month to do better at school, or he can forget about dance for a while. Let's see how his additional tutoring sessions go, and what - or better, who - causes mayhem.</p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/16dz1n3ctolQbuZPtvHVqH?si=_XzegmRbSxislf1rSKaCgg">Love Man</a> by Otis Redding.<br/> <br/>Trying to keep my cool but this is one of the chapters I am most excited for so I hope you'll like it!!</p>
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<p>Jimin was not one to bullshit around, and the day after the discussion with his parents he had already texted Namjoon and arranged for an extra weekly tutoring class on the weekend.</p>
<p>The older boy’s schedule was pretty tight already, but he had managed – after making sure the other understood how inconvenient his request was – to fit Jimin in for late Saturday mornings, which would mean meeting with him thrice a week. The blonde was not overly thrilled, but he had to recognize that Namjoon’s persistence had paid off in the past month.</p>
<p>Was the last math grade coming from a misunderstanding of the topic or was it coming from his mind wondering too much in Taehyung-related territory, as of lately? Probably a dangerous combination of both. Yoongi kept telling him it was probably just a misunderstanding and surprised him with small gifts every time he completed an exercise without mistakes, but Jimin didn’t always feel like he deserved them.</p>
<p>One week of extra tutoring classes had already gone by, and between that, the three History group meetings and the three dance classes, Jimin felt like he did not have a single moment to stop and breathe for the whole week. Spa day was reduced to spa two-hours.</p>
<p>It particularly saddened him that he did not have more time to spend with Hoseok and Yoongi. Despite their core mission of making Jimin’s wishes come true, he simply enjoyed the company of the two and wished he could spare more time to chat with them – but they had told him that time-related wishes were dangerous and easily turned wrong, so he dared not ask for 36-hours days, even if he really needed them.</p>
<p>The history group essay was turning out really nice, and Jimin didn’t want to sound like a nerd but he felt kind-of proud of it.</p>
<p>He hadn’t wished for Jungkook to catch a cold – not yet – but he had come to realize that the boy’s company was not too bad. He kept mostly to himself, but his remarks were always insightful when project-related and quite funny when not. Jimin found out that he was taking more advanced courses than he thought, making him almost on par with older students. The boy was an acclaimed member of the basketball team, incredibly smart, quirky and also quite cute, with the bunny grin he flashed from time to time and the way he scrunched his nose – but not Jimin’s type.</p>
<p>Talking about his type, Taehyung had been perfectly fine and great during all their meetings. He was just the type of person you easily fall in love with, in Jimin’s opinion. He knew how to balance his serious and his funny side, he knew when it was time to work hard and focus and when it was time for a deserved break, he knew how to make Jungkook laugh and Jimin’s heart flutter in his chest.</p>
<p>The issue, now that they had gotten closer as project partners once again, was for Jimin to get stuck in that role once again.</p>
<p>Because even if Taehyung included him in the jokes and the small talk on their way out from the library, even if he said hello in the school corridors and even if he had complimented him on his newspaper boy hat (one that Yoongi had picked out and was very proud of), he was not a friend of his, he was not a person he would stop in the corridors to talk about their day nor someone to invite over to chill on a Sunday night.</p>
<p>Jimin had tried to approach him in the school hall a couple of times, just to ask him about his day and walk to class together, to take the next step in their relationship, but he was always surrounded by his large groups of friends and classmates, and how could he just throw himself at them and interrupt their surely interesting discussions?</p>
<p>It had become clear that he would have to take such next step during the library sessions or during History class, and he was now pondering if it was better to include Jungkook or find a way to ask Taehyung only.</p>
<p>What if he asked them if they were up for coffee after one of their meetings? Would they be busy with basketball practice, maybe? Or what about coming over and having some pizza for dinner? Would that be okay? Would they surely be busy? Maybe he just had to stop overthinking it, like Hoseok had told him a billion of times. And every single one of these times, Jimin had just collapsed on his bed, wished for tteokbokki, and ignored the matter, sure that a brilliant solution would come to him in his dreams.</p>
<p>It didn’t.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>It was now the Wednesday night of the following week, and Jimin was halfway through his first tutoring session of the week with Namjoon.</p>
<p>They had gone over his atrocious math test, which had apparently gone south because of a single misunderstood formula that had appeared in every freaking exercise of the assignment. If not for that, Jimin would have done all but one exercise right.</p>
<p>It turned out that Yoongi was right - he deserved a bit of a break. His annoyance at his professor touched levels never reached before when he found out he had really called his parents because of <em>that.</em></p>
<p>Namjoon had been quite understanding in running over the formula again, but as they were reviewing the new topic, Jimin could tell the other boy was quite vexed. He hoped not to be the cause of it, but he guessed that only rarely had Namjoon achieved so little progress with his pupils over the span of so many months. Another graded quiz was coming up.</p>
<p>How was he supposed to relax about it if his tutor was more stressed than him, though? If he could just let it go and end the lesson early, maybe Jimin could review the topic at night, run it over in his mind in bed and learn it better than with Namjoon raising his voice at him. But Namjoon never let it go.</p>
<p>
  <em>Never.</em>
</p>
<p>"You have to report it like this. It is a mistake derived from the wrong use of the previous formula. With the right procedure, it comes to this… - his pencil scribbled on Jimin’s papers – And this. This is the right one. We will come back to this later, but please, focus so we can move onto the next one. Try the second step again" he handed the material back to Jimin.</p>
<p>Jimin was considering whether to follow Namjoon’s instructions or call it quits (pretending to faint if that was what it came to), when he heard a loud noise coming from upstairs. Immediately, his eyes went to his chest, where the fairy pins usually hung, but found nothing. A further noise, a distinctive canine noise, confirmed his suspicions that Hoseok and Yoongi were in animal form, and that they were probably wreaking havoc in his room.</p>
<p>"Can you excuse me just one second-" he stood up as a feline shriek pierced through the silence.</p>
<p>"I just need to go check-"</p>
<p>"Yeah, no bother, I’ll just wait for you here, as I always do" Namjoon dismissed him with dramatic annoyance, twirling a pencil in his left hand.</p>
<p>Jimin hurried up the stairs as the animal hisses and barks continued, opening the door to his room in a burst and addressing the fairies before he had even shut it behind himself.</p>
<p>"What the hell, guys? Namjoon’s downstairs"</p>
<p>At that, two pairs of eyes turned towards him. The cat’s came from up the bed, the dog’s from the floor in front of it.</p>
<p>Yoongi and Hoseok were in their animal form, facing each other, apparently very upset about something as the cat’s straight ears and tail gave out. It was not like them to discuss with such anger in the first place, or if they ever did, Jimin never noticed.</p>
<p>In a puff of glittery purple smoke, the two immediately assumed human form. Yoongi was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his arms crossed as well over his chest, an annoyed expression over his face as his eyes were fixed on Hoseok with a sharp glance. Hoseok was standing in the middle of the room facing Yoongi, his arms spread wide at his sides as he had been halfway through saying something with emphasis.</p>
<p>"We can hear everything from the living room – what’s even going on?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, what’s going on, Jung Hoseok?" Yoongi said with calm irritation from the bed.</p>
<p>"Oh right, Min Yoongi, so now I cannot worry about it? ‘Cause I absolutely had no reason to worry about it in the past!" he exclaimed.</p>
<p>"I don’t know why you are so upset, we are simply on good terms now, you know it hasn’t been like that for centuries, what do you even think could happen…"</p>
<p>"Oh, I have a pretty good idea of what could happen and another pretty good idea of why he would be here" Jimin had never heard such firmness in Hoseok’s voice.</p>
<p>"Oh, amazing! Why don’t we sign it on the calendar? – and with a snap of Yoongi’s fingers, a calendar and a black marker appeared in the air next to him – 28<sup>th</sup> of February 2020, Jung Hoseok had an idea, that would be a first" and the marker circled the date furiously.</p>
<p>"You know perfectly well that I trust you, that’s not the problem here" Hobi ignored Yoongi’s sarcastic remarks.</p>
<p>"Then what on fairy-land are we even talking about?" Yoongi almost shouted with exasperation.</p>
<p>"That there is something stirring in the pot, and when it comes to him, I don’t trust him in the slightest, I do not believe it can be that he is just here by chance or anything like that. It will be like last time and I won’t be able to hold back this time around, so I’m just gonna send his shiny ass back to Fairy-Land at the risk of losing the position myself" Hoseok was rambling, and Jimin had never, <em>ever,</em> seen him so upset before.</p>
<p>"GUYS!" he screamed.</p>
<p>They seemed to notice – again – that Jimin was in the same room.</p>
<p>"What are you even talking about? Who’s doing what?"</p>
<p>"Yes, Hoseok, why don’t you tell us what you are screaming about? Tell Jimin please"</p>
<p>"No, Yoongi, why don’t you give a proper introduction yourself since you know him so well?"</p>
<p>"Anyone?" the fairies were staring at each other, as if the first to speak would be losing some unspoken game.</p>
<p>"Fine, whatever, it better come from me so Jimin knows it’s not a big deal – Yoongi uncrossed his arms and legs, leaning on his palms on the bed – As we were wondering around the school this morning, in our animal form, you know when you had P.E. so you told us that we could explore around because you didn’t need us and all that…"</p>
<p>"Yes…"</p>
<p>"Well, we went to the garden, and Hoseok thinks he recognized an… <em>acquaintance</em> of ours, disguised in animal form as well, but most definitely a fairy we know" Hobi snorted at the word <em>acquaintance.</em></p>
<p>"So, another kid from school has a fairy?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, most probably, unless they belong to a kid living nearby or to a teacher, but I have never heard of adults getting fairy godparents, so…" Yoongi continued.</p>
<p>"So, what’s the issue? You hate this fairy?"</p>
<p>"I don’t, and if anything, I should be the one with something against him. Hoseok does though" and he put his hands in front of himself in a defensive gesture. Hobi was the one with his arms crossed now, and Jimin thought he had seen actual smoke coming out of his ears.</p>
<p>"Mind to say why I don’t like him?"</p>
<p>"He doesn’t like him ‘cause he is my ex-boyfriend" oh.</p>
<p>Oh.</p>
<p>"Oh"</p>
<p>"Mind to say the<em> real</em> reason why I don’t like him?"</p>
<p>"Because you are delusional" Yoongi rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"I’m not! – Hobi turned around, looking at Jimin in loud distress – He may be Yoongi’s ex-boyfriend of a thousand years ago or something, but apparently <em>he</em> doesn’t remember that! Because every fuc- <em>sorry,</em> every freaking time he shows up, give or take every century, he doesn’t seem to remember that Yoongi and I have been married for millennia but always tries to win him back or some bull- <em>sorry</em>, or something like that. He even pretends not to remember I exist! <em>“Oh, what’s your name, sorry?”</em> and all the crap! And if he’s here now, it just means that he is thinking about shooting his shot at Yoongi for the 13-th time. <em>NOT ONLY,</em> but this time around apparently his preferred form is a freaking white cat! A cat with purple eyes, of course! Just like his perfect hair! Couldn’t he just stick with the god-forsaken ferret?"</p>
<p>"Well, I was the one who dumped his ass once and for all literal ages ago, so Hope’s got nothing to worry about, but he acts like a child every time his name is mentioned" one of Yoongi’s nicknames for Hoseok slipped in.</p>
<p>"If you weren’t still on such good terms with him and acting like a school-child with a crush every time he is around<em> – no offense to schoolchildren with crushes, Jimin –</em> maybe I wouldn’t have to be so annoyed! I don’t know if you even realize how much he is trying to get in your pants again or if you just choose to ignore it-"</p>
<p>"Wait wait wait – Jimin interrupted – first of all, that was mean, Hobi. Second of all: I’m sure Yoongi loves you a lot and, like, can’t this guy simply have been assigned to a kid at school? I mean, if he hasn’t showed up and met you two yet maybe he doesn’t even know you’re here, and you just happen to be in the same place…"</p>
<p>Hoseok shrugged, a short laugh escaping his lips as if what Jimin had just said was unbelievable.</p>
<p>"If it was any other fairy, that would be the case. But he happens to be one of the most popular fairies of all Fairy Land. He even did acting and stuff for most of his life, before <em>casually</em> choosing to become a Godparent full-time. It is rumored that even Jorgen and the Fairy Court would do favors for him, and it is not the first time Mr. F.L.W.H. has chosen the kid to be assigned to with more liberty than what’s permitted…"</p>
<p>"FLWHat?" Jimin raised a questioning eyebrow.</p>
<p>"Just one of his many nicknames… – Hobi did a slow somersault in the air, resting with his feet in the air, counting on his fingers – it stands for Mr Fairy-Land-Wide Handsome, but he is also known as Seokjin The Magnifico, or by the<em> “short and sweet, love”</em> Jin, or by other stuff I <em>very consciously</em> tried to forget but that now comes up uninvited in my mind..." he took a pause, probably for dramatic effect.</p>
<p>"His fans' nicknames for him... Eokkaeminam... Golden Ratio... but there are worse ones, like that horrible nickname of "<em>Love Man" </em>he got during the late 60s… that definitely ruined the good years of disco for me…" it seemed like Hobi could go on, but changed his mind. He scratched his forehead, feigning physical pain, but Jimin could hear him muttering very clearly<em> "I think he has more nicknames than good qualities".</em></p>
<p>"It’s not my fault he is a bit clingy" Yoongi checked his nails, and Jimin had the feeling it was not the first time this same discussion played out.</p>
<p>"And I would not hold it up to you for that, but the fact you meet him as an old friend each time and play oblivious to his constant and frankly <em>SHAMELESS</em> flirting will wear me out" Hoseok scoffed, and turned into a balloon just to pop himself with a needle and disperse in pieces on the wooden floor. Despite the grandiose exhibition of upset, now he sounded more tired than angry.</p>
<p>"Alright guys, I’m not a fairy couples’ counsellor but it looks like you both need to chill down and take hold of the situation. We could try to sneak around and find out who this Magnifico or whatever has been assigned to, maybe we could understand his intentions like that, what do you say?" no answer came from his godparents, but at least Hobi turned back into his flesh-and-blood form.</p>
<p>"Okay… well... now... – he approached the taller fairy and put his hands on his shoulders - Hoseok, your jealousy is a bit cute but thoroughly unjustified. I have never seen a more adorable couple than the two of you, Yoongi is… how to say this… truly whipped for you, and whoever tries to get in the middle is just plain delusional"</p>
<p>"And, Yoongi, – he switched places – maybe you like being worshipped by this Seok-guy but I don’t know, maybe remind him of his place or something? Seeing you act a certain way around him may hurt Hobi" at Yoongi's half-upset, half-dubious expression, Jimin retreated towards the door and shrugged.</p>
<p>It all seemed so easy when it concerned other people’s love lives.</p>
<p>"I really need to finish up with Namjoon now, but tomorrow maybe we can try to catch him at school and follow him afterwards, or something like that?" he asked. He did not wish for any harm to come to Hoseok and Yoongi’s relationship, but the idea of another fairy lurking around the school particularly intrigued him, and he really wanted to find out who this Seokjin had been assigned to.</p>
<p>The fairies did not seem eager to talk, but short affirmations and grunts reached Jimin’s ears and that was enough to convince him it was safe to leave his bedroom. He really cared about his godparents but already had enough on his plate, and it was all very close to taking a mental toll on him.</p>
<p>Jimin went back to the living room only to find another annoyed face staring at him.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>As soon as the last bell rang on Thursday afternoon, Jimin ran out of his seat and hurried out of the school to hide behind a tree on the other side of the road. Hoseok and Yoongi appeared from the branches of the same tree, disguised as two birds, one with a dark green shine to his feathers, at the other one with an oddly bright pink beak.</p>
<p>"Report on the situation?" Jimin asked.</p>
<p>"We saw the cat wondering around the front garden this morning. Then he climbed up a tree and slept there most of the day" the green bird chirped.</p>
<p>"Are you sure that’s him?"</p>
<p>"It’s the first time I see him as a cat, but that’s definitely him. The purple eyes are a distinctive trait of his shape-shifting, and the fact he spent most of the school day sleeping in the garden… well, that’s him. Beauty naps, you know, that's his thing" Yoongi explained. He looked at Hobi awkwardly, as if maybe he regretted admitting to remembering some of Seokjin's habits.</p>
<p>Hoseok seemed stoic, and Jimin couldn't tell whether he was faking.</p>
<p>"Okay, so, is he still there?"</p>
<p>"He is, but it’s only a matter of seconds till whomever he is guarding now comes out and he follows them. Wait here and we’ll tell you when and where to move" and with that, Yoongi and Hoseok had flown away, but not before a small, bean-shaped microphone had materialized in Jimin’s right ear. He could now hear the two fairies bickering about Seokjin’s motives and stuff that happened millennia before at the fairy school, something involving a cooking competition and then God knows what.</p>
<p>"I can hear you, you know"</p>
<p>"Yeah well, nothing you haven’t heard already… - Yoongi trailed off – Wait. Here he is. He is moving to your left, down the street"</p>
<p>"Isn’t that up the street?"</p>
<p>"It simply depends on your point of view, Hob-ah, it’s left from his and right from the school’s"</p>
<p>"Alright… you two please don’t start arguing over this… I am walking down the street" and with that, he was moving.</p>
<p>There were only two main directions one could go from the school, and the students divided almost equally in two large human flows at the exit. If Seokjin was not the type to stay glued to his kid, then it would not be easy to recognize whom he belonged to, especially with everyone wearing the school uniform.</p>
<p>Hoseok and Yoongi were up in the sky, not to risk being heard talking by students, but especially not to risk being seen by the purple-eyed cat, who would have recognized them immediately. Hence, they could follow the feline but could not be of much help in recognizing students’ faces.</p>
<p>That was where Jimin came in.</p>
<p>Would it have been better to find out the fairy was with someone he knew or not? It surely would have been something to bond on. He just hoped not to freak the other kid out. Was he even supposed to come clean with them about his own godparents? It would be risky, no matter the similarity of the situation.</p>
<p>And even if no one apart from them found out about it, would Hoseok approve of being introduced to Seokjin once again? Assuming that Jin did not know of them already, of course. A lot of questions that would, perhaps, be answered in a few days. For the moment, Jimin just needed to find out what the cat’s business was. And what if he had no kid but was just waiting around for Yoongi? Could that even be possible?</p>
<p>Jimin kept on following the crowd, getting thinner and thinner by the time students turned corners left and right or stopped by cafés and supermarkets. Jimin turned right once and then crossed a street to the left, but there were still too many people around him, the bus stop being on the same road.</p>
<p>"Oh, I think we’ve lost him…" Hoseok’s nervous tone reached his earpiece.</p>
<p>"How could you lose him? Don’t you have him on your hate radar or something?"</p>
<p>"He’s too pure for that, even if I think he could make an exception for Seokjin… but no, it’s that there are too many people at the bus stop and he sneaked in between their legs. With the shop-tents, the balconies and all the people around, we can’t see much now. Maybe he is getting on the bus, maybe he is crossing that huge group of people or maybe he has left already…" Yoongi explained.</p>
<p>"If he is keeping away from his kid not to be seen by their friends, he won’t get on the bus. It could be that he has turned into an inanimate object, but keep looking… you said he doesn't like to do that..." Jimin tried to make his way through the crowd, his eyes scanning in every direction.</p>
<p>He looked at the bus for a second, doubting the cat would get on it. It was too packed anyways, and he would risk being stepped on unless he changed form. Jimin was starting to panic at the choice between going down a narrow alley, running down the road or turning back, when he caught a glimpse of the cat’s tail disappearing behind a closing door.</p>
<p>"Here! I think I’ve seen him!" he shouted, careless of a few people sending him dumbfounded stares.</p>
<p>"Where?"</p>
<p>Jimin looked up and around, and realized the cat had just sneaked into the front doors of one of the local cinemas.</p>
<p>The entrance was pretty empty, and as Jimin looked at the posters hung on the walls, he found out that the early afternoon movie had just started – and that it was a movie time that offered discounts for students, apparently.</p>
<p>"He sneaked into the cinema" he mouthed, and in a brief second, Hoseok and Yoongi had materialized into the two familiar pins on the collar of his jacket.</p>
<p>"What should we do?" he asked, giving his back to the ticket booth, feigning interest in the movie schedule.</p>
<p>"As we don’t want him to see us… - Hoseok started, and Yoongi snorted – It is better if you go in alone and try to see who’s there, then report back to us"</p>
<p>"Can’t you just materialize me in the room?" Jimin asked. It suddenly came to him that he had never even thought to wish to be teleported anywhere, but that the option was very intriguing.</p>
<p>"Sure we can, just go to the back alleyway so you don’t disappear in front of the ticket booth worker" whispered Yoongi. Jimin rounded the corner excitedly and hid behind a metal column holding up the emergency exit stairs.</p>
<p>"Come with me too, guys, I’ll just keep you covered with my scarf and if you stay quiet he won’t possibly see you. Sorry, Hobi, but I need you with me – he paused briefly – Okay. I wish for you to materialize the three of us inside the movie theater, in the room showing the movie 1917" and without enough time to let Hoseok protest, Jimin felt a lightness surge inside his chest and stomach, and the cold asphalt of the street leaving his feet.</p>
<p>He didn’t realize he had closed his eyes, but as he reopened them, he felt the soft velvet of the movie seats beneath his forearms and darkness all around him.</p>
<p>He was seated in the back of the room, the screen already reeling with shots of the war movie. It took him a minute to adjust, but the next he was already scanning the room, looking for the cat and for a familiar face – or, from his position, a familiar head of hair. There weren’t too many people, a total of 30 or 40, give or take, but the darkness and distance did not help.</p>
<p>Unsure of what wish to ask, he just stood up from his seat and walked down the hallway to the front of the room, half standing and half crunched over not to bother movie viewers.</p>
<p>Obviously, the images on the screen turned dark the moment he had reached the front seats, and he could not define the features on people’s faces anymore. Not those ones… probably not the other ones either… he stood up straighter to try to catch a glimpse of the people on the opposite side of the room… maybe if he took his phone out he could use the torch light for a brief second…</p>
<p>"Hey, you! No standing during the movie, and phones are not allowed unless switched off!" a deep, harsh voice startled him. Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man wearing the theatre’s uniform.</p>
<p>"Understood?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, sorry, I was looking for a friend of mine - Jimin plastered a smile on his face and bowed his head lightly – I will just catch him during the break"</p>
<p>And with that, the man guided him to the seats in the back.</p>
<p>Jimin sunk into the chair, muttering a further apology but cursing under his breath the second the man had returned to his position at the side of the room. From there, he was in the almost exact situation as when he materialized, so he ended up deciding to follow on what he said to the man: watching the movie and catching up with his friend at the bar.</p>
<p>No person his age would miss the opportunity to grab a few snacks at the cinema bar during the break halfway through the movie, and he was surely going to see them with the cat or any other purple-colored accessory under the bar’s neon lights. So, he settled comfortably into his seat, and waited watching the movie – which turned out to be pretty good.</p>
<p>As soon as the pictures faded into a black screen displaying that a 5-minutes break would follow, Jimin sneaked out of his chair and into the bar.</p>
<p>The room connected the entrance with the main cinema hall, and had a couple of sofas and seats scattered around. Jimin was thinking about simply sitting somewhere strategical and waiting when a familiar voice reached his ears, so he hurried behind a cabinet displaying the movie-related gadgets you could buy at the bar.</p>
<p>Peeking from behind it, he saw Jungkook enter into the room.</p>
<p>He was followed by a couple of the girls in Taehyung and his’ friend group, Wheein and Chaeyoung (of course, Jimin knew the names of everyone in that group). He was laughing and chatting, the dark-haired girl explaining something about the movie animatedly. But what got Jimin’s undivided attention was the white cat that closely followed Jungkook into the room. Afraid of being seen, Jimin waited for the moment the boy approached the barista to dash out of the room and into the street. He turned right, ending back into the alleyway he had disappeared from less than an hour before.</p>
<p>"Jungkook?!" he shouted. Hoseok and Yoongi detached from his collar to assume human form, but in a size such that they could have easily fitted in his pocket.</p>
<p>"Don’t scream!"</p>
<p>"Jungkook!?" he repeated, the tone of his voice just slightly lower.</p>
<p>"Well, I’m going to make it my personal mission to make that boy the happiest person to ever walk on Earth, just so we get rid of Seokjin. No colds for Jungkook anymore, I’m sorry, Jimin dear, dearest Jimin, but you had your chance and you missed it" Hoseok warned him.</p>
<p>"Oh, in the name of the Tooth Fairy… this is going to be interesting" Yoongi was rubbing his face in disbelief.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jimin got home just in time for his afternoon lesson with Namjoon.</p>
<p>He had to see him two days in a row during the week, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which was a real pain in the ass but at least it passed by quickly. The session itself actually went better than most – he felt like the older boy did not want to punch him, not once, and on the other hand, he didn’t want to punch Namjoon once either.</p>
<p>Yoongi particularly liked Namjoon a lot, always reminding his godchild of how good a tutor and a person he was, doing what he did despite surely having a lot on his plate already. Jimin only occasionally wondered what Namjoon must have been like outside the classroom, outside the tutoring and the study, and all the other things he must have been doing to present a perfect application to the prestigious universities he surely was going to apply to, but it was too difficult to picture his tutor in such a light. He surely had other things to think about that afternoon.</p>
<p>In fact, Jimin spent the rest of the night trying to understand how he could approach his new discovery.</p>
<p>He wanted to study, he really did, but he couldn’t. From Hoseok and Yoongi’s viewpoint, the fact that Seokjin was not just casually wandering around was a reassurance, but he still could have asked to be assigned to Jungkook just to be close to Yoongi.</p>
<p>From Jimin’s point of view, that could definitely give him some access to Taehyung’s circle, but there was something else. It was the fact that he couldn’t think about it in these terms, not now.</p>
<p>If Jungkook had a fairy godparent, it meant there was a lot going on in the boy’s life, a lot of things that he was not letting others see. Well, maybe his close friends and Taehyung knew about it, but from a quick glance or word exchanged in class, Jimin would have never guessed that perfect Jungkook could have some serious issues troubling him. Not that Jimin thought he was so transparent about his own struggles either, but he could be seen walking down the school corridor alone, or getting insufficient grades one after the other. He couldn't even start guessing what could be the reason for the younger boy to have fairies, and that only added to his concerns.</p>
<p>It really put his assumptions in a new perspective.</p>
<p>Maybe he could try to get closer to Jungkook, but not with the objective of getting closer to Taehyung – maybe he could just get to know the younger boy better, bond over their situations and find a friend like that, with no other intentions. It would not be bad for either of them.</p>
<p>He fell asleep thinking such thoughts, and when morning came he hadn’t made up his mind about the whole situation yet, but he knew that he needed to do something about it. He needed to do something about <em>a lot</em> of things.</p>
<p>It was on Friday that things took an interesting turn, one that Jimin would not have been able to take advantage of, had he not stopped in the school hall to take a look at the announcement board.</p>
<p>The board was often used by students to pin application sheets for school clubs, by tutors to present themselves and leave their phone numbers or references, and by teachers to give unofficial announcements of various sorts. At the center of the board, a bright white sheet ending in many empty lines reported the opportunity of a Friday-to-Monday school trip to the natural park-reserve not too far from town. It was indicted by the biology teachers – one of the subject Jimin struggled with, as his trials regarded most of the scientific subjects – and it was interesting under many points of view.</p>
<p>First point, it was going to be a trip combining the exploration of nature with theoretical open-air classes developing further some of the topics discussed in class.</p>
<p>Second point, it offered exemption from biology homework for the week after the trip to anyone who attended, and it also automatically assigned a good grade if a quick test at the end of the trip was passed.</p>
<p>Third point, it was open to all students from the last two years, and a couple of people had already signed up.</p>
<p>Among them, scribbled with perfect handwriting, Kim Taehyung.</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>SO HERE WE ARE I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS AS MUCH AS YOU HAVE!! Can you guess who Jin parallels? In case you still need a hint, his name starts with Juandissimo and ends with Magnifico. NB: Juandissimo is not a bad person, and Jin is neither (and you will see it). Just a little frenemies/jealousy/triangle/ex/etc. something for you. I could never portray Seokjinnie as a bad person.<br/>The calendar thing is an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWuO3bFG17M"> i c o n i c moment </a> from the fairy godparents.</p>
<p>Story time no one cares for: the failed test because of one misunderstood formula comes from personal experience &lt;3 and now I just graduated in economics &lt;3 take that &lt;3</p>
<p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think! TYSM for the comments on the last!! T_T </em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter</strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm! see ya on friday ^u^ .... for .... the .... TRIP!!!!!!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Middle Of Somewhere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A new fairy is in town, and chaos breaks loose in Jimin's room. What is up with Seokjin's godchild, and what are his real motives? The gossip is juicy, but Jimin hasn't forgotten about the urgent scholastic deadlines and tests, nor about his own love mission. In fact, an interesting opportunity has come up: a four-days school trip which Taehyung has signed up for. Let's jump on the bus and see how it goes in the next few chapters!</p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4e8zIDjctZ1DtUPZTraGzS?si=W5cOcY9oR7GGiWAHwl_rTQ">Middle of Somewhere</a> by The Neighbourhood AKA my favorite band check them out.<br/> <br/></p>
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<p>The trip could not come soon enough, especially because Jimin had no occasion to see either Taehyung nor Jungkook for the whole week. They had reached a point in their History project in which each one of them needed to do a different part, and it made no sense to waste time meeting at the library when they could do it on their own. They could just reconvene later on when they would need to assemble and combine the single pieces together.</p>
<p>Thus, a week almost entirely Tae-kook-free if not for brief hellos in the corridors (and that one time they sat at the same table for lunch) had passed, and Jimin was starting to feel particularly irritable. Not being able to talk with Taehyung before was a thing, but now he was getting way too used to his presence to be able to go on without it.</p>
<p>Still, it definitely was not an uneventful week.</p>
<p>On one hand, Jimin decided to take advantage of the fact he<em> actually</em> had freaking fairies as godparents. He wished for every single thing that came to his mind, to the point he felt guilty for spoiling himself so much. Hoseok and Yoongi kept saying that this was exactly what they did and what they were there to do, so, in the end, Jimin decided not to feel sorry for treating himself, as he was sipping on a virgin mojito in the pool that had materialized in his backyard – especially because Yoongi and Hobi were sunbathing on unicorn-shaped floaties beside him. </p>
<p>Jimin’s parents were inclined to let him go on the school trip because of the biology grade thing, but they were also worried about the time the trip would have taken away from their boy’s precious study time. </p>
<p>And that was when Namjoon came in. Or better, that was when a combination of an excellent grade on physics homework and Namjoon came in, but the tutor definitely was the convincing bit.</p>
<p>For once, apparently, he spoke with Jimin’s parents not about his lack of progress or about what an academic failure he was, but about his actual progress and the reasons why the biology trip would do him good. He had worked hard and it had paid off, and the trip was the perfect occasion to study and have a bit of a break at the same time. Namjoon didn’t tell this to Jimin in person, but his parents did not hold back their enthusiasm and approval after hearing the tutor’s words.</p>
<p>Oh, not only, but Namjoon was going to the trip as well. Jimin did not think this was important in the respect that his parents hoped he would keep an eye on Jimin, they were not over-protective like that, but if Kim Namjoon had chosen the trip for himself, it was apparently, surely, worth-it.</p>
<p>Hence, going back to the start, Friday morning of the following week could not come soon enough; but in the end it did, and Jimin had never felt so well-rested and energetic in his whole life as when his 5 o’clock alarm rang. With the objective of finally getting his man (and hoping that such positive boldness would not fade as soon as he saw him on the bus and his knees turned to jelly), he quickly got ready in a practical yet killer outfit and walked to the school with a small overflowing suitcase and his heart pounding with excitement in his chest.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>But, of course, fate wanted to test his patience and goodwill once again.To Jimin's greatest displeasure, two buses had been rented to accommodate all the students who had signed up for the trip. As he was carelessly hushed onto the first one and his name struck off a sheet of paper, he couldn’t see Taehyung around.</p>
<p>Would his friends be coming on the trip too? Did he choose it because of an interest in biology Jimin didn’t know about or just to get a weekend away from everything? His best intentions were not <em>magically</em> being turned into reality the way he thought they would. The first occasion was fading already. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even think about asking Hoseok and Yoongi for a wish, but maybe he also felt like he wanted Taehyung to notice him because of himself only.</p>
<p>As he got on the bus, he noticed most of the seats were already taken, and quickly scanned the corridor to weight his options. He saw Namjoon seated halfway through the vehicle, his head leaning against the glass and headphones in his ears, an empty place beside him. The older boy opened his sleepy eyes, noticed him staring and waved with a certain composure. Jimin acknowledged him with a nod of his head, uncertain of what to do, then settled into the nearest vacant seat and scuttled along to sit by the window. </p>
<p>"Why don’t you go sit beside him?" Yoongi teased, and Hobi giggled.</p>
<p>The green-haired fairy was back to his usual sunshine-like self, most of the times at least.</p>
<p>"Did you hit your head this morning?" Jimin whispered.</p>
<p>It took a while for everyone to get on the bus, but eventually almost every seat was taken, including the one next to Namjoon. The occupant was another last-year boy named Jackson, whom Jimin knew from an excellent display of fencing at the last talent show. It seemed like the two of them were well-acquainted. </p>
<p>A nice, pretty girl by the name of Jisoo had sat next to Jimin. The two of them sporadically exchanged small talk about the prospects of the trip and their favorite fashion brands through the two-hours bus ride, then listened to music and eventually simply stared out of the bus’ windows in awe - they had gotten in proximity of the natural reserve. By the time they reached the parking spot, Jimin was happy to know that, at least, if he wasn’t going to be able to intercept Taehyung, he could seek out Jisoo’s company. </p>
<p>They were left at the end of the trafficable forest road, in the proximity of two wooden chalets. The place did not look too shabby but not too luxurious either, with the two buildings fitting well with the surroundings but possibly needing a fresh coat of paint on the sides. Jimin’s biology professor, accompanied by other various members of the school staff, explained that the hotel was going to be their base for the next four days and three nights. There were a few accommodations dislocated at different entrances of the natural reserve, and the one chosen by the school combined proximity and budget.</p>
<p>Students were going to be left a full hour to settle down, grab some breakfast by the café in the smaller chalet if they wished to, and get prepared for the first session of the morning: it was going to be a combo of trekking and genetics’ theory with a practical, real-time example. The professor could barely hold his excitement back, and Jimin felt exactly the same as he sighted Taehyung’s distinctive head of curly brown hair.  </p>
<p>However, it didn’t last long.</p>
<p>The next minute rooms were assigned, with the professors calling groups of three, four and five kids to grab keys and find the place they would sleep in. All the rooms were in the same building, the three-stories one, and by the looks of it, they had rented it whole. Jimin was called second of his group, but none of the other three kids with him was Taehyung.  </p>
<p>A wish about switching beds was surely going to be perfectly fine, Jimin pondered as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor with his newly-appointed roommates, none of whom he had ever seen before. Hoseok and Yoongi would make the switch happen and no-one would remember anything about the original groups in the first place. It couldn’t be considered cheating in any way. He felt bad at the prospect of separating Taehyung from his friends, because surely, he had asked to be in the same room as them, but desperate times called for desperate measures.</p>
<p>As he was thinking such thoughts over and over, his suitcase open on his bed and his underwear being folded away neatly (with a little magical help) in the nightstand drawer, he heard a knock on the door. </p>
<p>"Sorry to interrupt" chills ran down Jimin’s spine at a voice he would have recognized anywhere.</p>
<p>He turned around, eyes wide, to find Kim Taehyung standing on his doorstep, a duffel bag in his right hand a backpack slouched over his left shoulder.</p>
<p>"There was an issue with the room numbers, turns out I was assigned to this room and Park Jin Young is in room 15, downstairs. We must be in the assigned rooms, just in case anything happens, or for them to come check after curfew – I don’t really know. Mr. Hak sent me up here" at Tae’s explanation, a boy with sleek black hair got up from the bed he had been lying on for the past five minutes, scrolling through his phone. </p>
<p>"Of course, they couldn’t even get the room names right - and without too much care about the matter, he picked up his still-packed bag with a sigh and made for the door – See y’all" and he was out of the room.</p>
<p>Taehyung walked in and closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>Oh Lord.</p>
<p>Oh Lord.</p>
<p>Someone had sent Jimin a miracle from above and now it was his turn not to mess it up.</p>
<p>Not only was Taehyung sleeping in the same room as him for the next few days, but his bed was on the same side of the room as Jimin’s, just a few meters apart, only a nightstand in between...</p>
<p>Oh good Lord – or, as Yoongi would say, Oh Sweet Tooth Fairy.</p>
<p>"Hi, Taehyung!" Jimin greeted him with the most casual smile he could manage. His voice kind-of cracked, but he pretended like it didn’t happen. He could feel Hoseok and Yoongi wiggling in excitement on his chest. If they didn’t shut up… </p>
<p>"Oh, hi Jimin! – the other boy opened up with a smile as his eyes set on the blonde’s face – It’s good to see you here too" and he walked to his bed to place the duffel bag on it, letting his raincoat slide off his shoulders.</p>
<p>He was wearing simple black jeans and a loose teal and ivory striped sweater. He had no beret on but a big chunky scarf was being unwrapped from his neck and placed on the bed. A series of colorful pins adorned his black backpack. Jimin was thankful he had already folded away his pinstriped pajama and sleep mask. </p>
<p>"Yeah, it is! I saw you downstairs but I imagined you would be sharing a room with your friends?" Jimin tried to sound as casual as possible as both boys went on unpacking their bags. </p>
<p>"Oh sure, I would be, but no one really wanted to come – not all of my friends take biology, and out of all the ones who do, only Jungkook seemed to be interested in the trip. But as you may know…"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it was open to older students only" Jimin knew it <em>very </em>well.</p>
<p>"Exactly – Taehyung smiled – But it is nice to see a familiar face"</p>
<p>Jimin tried to find something smart to say, but didn’t.</p>
<p>"So I take it none of your friends was up for it either?" Taehyung inquired.</p>
<p>"No, not really…" yeah, out of his many, many friends.</p>
<p>He had to find something to say and change the topic, quick.</p>
<p>"So, yeah… is your biology teacher here too?" was the best he came up with.</p>
<p>"Positive, Mrs. Montana. Your professor is the one who organized the trip, am I right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, that’s him"</p>
<p>"It’s a very nice idea. I know we’re here for academic purposes, but being surrounded by nature, even just being able to follow classes in the forest and see experiments first-hand… that’s exciting" Taehyung seemed genuinely euphoric.</p>
<p>"It surely is… exactly what I was thinking when I signed up for the trip!" maybe it came out a bit too squeaky.</p>
<p>Breathe, Jimin, breathe.</p>
<p>In and out.</p>
<p>Okay, he had calmed down. Maybe.</p>
<p>"The test at the end shouldn’t be too difficult either – do you know Yi Eun?" asked Taehyung.</p>
<p>Jimin nodded – of course he knew him. He used to be among the most popular kids in school just a couple of years before. He had now left for college, but was rumored to be pursuing an artistic career. How lucky.</p>
<p>"Well, I used to hang around with him when he was in school, and I remember him coming on this exact trip a couple of years back and bragging about how easy the test was. He was failing biology and it really helped him, so nothing to stress about" Jimin was thankful there was no remark on the (false) rumored simplicity of the course, because Tae was surely doing just fine in it.</p>
<p>"That’s good to know, thanks Taehyung"</p>
<p>"You’re welcome, and you can call me Tae if you want"</p>
<p>"Alright… thanks, Tae"</p>
<p>If anyone had described to Jimin what was going to happen from that moment onwards, he would have asked them where they had read such a great piece of fiction.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t fiction, it was all real – Taehyung hanging casually around him, following him downstairs to grab some breakfast together, walking with him to the arranged meeting place. It wasn’t an obnoxious presence, nothing clingy (not that Jimin would have complained), it just kind of happened… naturally, despite Tae waving back and saying hello here and there to many faces he knew.</p>
<p>They had just sort of started gravitating around each other, and Jimin thought – hoped – it would go on for the rest of the weekend.</p>
<p>One of the best parts of it was he didn’t have it come from Hoseok and Yoongi’s wands. True, if it hadn’t been for them he wouldn’t have asked Taehyung to partner up with him for History in the first place, and he wouldn’t have had many of the effortlessly cool outfits he chose to wear when meeting him, maybe he wouldn’t even have had the confidence that the continuous cheering of the two fairies instilled in him, but it was good to know that Tae’s presence had not come from magic.</p>
<p>Speaking about magic, the first moment Jimin was truly alone with his godparents was when he went to the bathroom after breakfast.</p>
<p>No one was waiting to use the dining room toilets, and the fairies immediately took the opportunity to transform into teacup-sized winged humans to start twirling around Jimin’s head, pinching his cheeks (mostly Yoongi) and sending sparks and confetti into the air (mostly Hobi), talking excitedly over one another.</p>
<p>"Alright, alright, first, calm down, and second, turn the other way so I can… you know…" he whispered, unable to hold back a laugh.</p>
<p>"That was so smooth!" a conspiratorial whisper came back from Hoseok.</p>
<p>"Please tell me you didn’t make the switch happen behind my back" he whispered back, not too sure if he really meant it.</p>
<p>"Of course we didn’t! We wouldn’t!"</p>
<p>"Sure…"</p>
<p>"Jimin, please just remember to breathe in and to take this easy – he is not disappearing after this weekend" reminded Yoongi with care.</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah. I’m trying not to overthink it. I’ll just… be with him. And see how things go" he finished doing the deed and turned back to his fairies.</p>
<p>"You can turn now – he smiled – I also want to let you free to roam around the woods and the lake a bit, but I really need you to stick with me through the first classes to see if I need any help. Is that okay with you?" he asked with an unsure eyebrow. He opened the bathroom stall and went to wash his hands.</p>
<p>"Oh, of course it is Jimin – you know we’re here for you"</p>
<p>"And the classes seem real interesting anyway" added Hobi.</p>
<p>"Oh, please, stop being such a nerd" teased Yoongi.</p>
<p>"Only caused you never liked to do homework…"</p>
<p>"Wait, I thought you were like top of the class or something?" asked Jimin with curiosity, as Yoongi rolled his eyes at Hoseok.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I was, I love learning, I just never really liked the scholastic aspect of it"</p>
<p>"Who’s the nerd now?" Hobi teased back. Jimin stepped in before they could take part in another session of their favorite hobby – bickering like the old married couple they effectively were.</p>
<p>"Alright, please transform back again and let’s get out of here before someone thinks I fell into the toilet – we have a bunch of plant cells or something like that waiting for us"</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jimin and Taehyung met with Mrs. Montana, Mr. Kim and one of the other professors in the clearing outside the lodge. Everyone was wearing sneakers and carrying their books in backpacks, some students sporting sunglasses, other raincoats and beanies, and a few even wearing trekking shorts and tees – no one was too sure about how long or tiring the actual walk was going to be.</p>
<p>It turned out to be a nice trek by the lakeside, only a few short climbs up and descents down while most of the path sneaked lazily among the trees, giving a nice view of the teal lake. It surely was still too cold to jump and dive in, but Jimin decided he would find a moment during the trip to at least dip his feet in the clear waters. Maybe Taehyung, or even Hoseok and Yoongi, would have liked to join him.</p>
<p>Tae didn’t say much during the walk, but the silence was not an uncomfortable one; it simply seemed like the boy was too entranced and enchanted by the blooming nature around him to make conversation. Jimin noticed a retro-looking camera in his hands, and he wondered if Taehyung would have liked to share that passion of his with him. He wondered if, maybe, he happened to be in a picture too.</p>
<p>After three quarters of an hour or slightly more, they reached a clearing on the other side of the lake. They had not seen its blue-green waters in the last few minutes of the hike, but when they reached the clearing, they found it to be elevated, and without trees to cover its west side, the lake shined beautifully below them in the bright morning light. The professors invited the students to sit scattered around, but not too far from them, so to be able to hear and see the explanation well.</p>
<p>The sun was shining brightly, and Jimin suddenly remembered he had forgot his sunglasses in his room. With a furtive look around him, he leaned down to whisper for a wish, covering his mouth with his hands as best as he could, as if he needed to adjust the collar of his shirt. His glasses materialized quickly in his left palm, but when he turned back, his heart skipped a beat. Taehyung was staring at him. He stared back, eyes wide.</p>
<p>"I was asking if you would like to sit here?" he asked with a confused look on his face.</p>
<p>Jimin’s heart started beating again.</p>
<p>"Sure, sorry… I was just… here’s fine" and he dropped to the ground – still gracefully, he was a trained ballet dancer after all. Taehyung joined him with less emphasis. The ground was not dirty but the grass was still a little damp from the night dew, and Jimin felt a shiver run up his spine.</p>
<p>Jimin’s attention span went on a rollercoaster ride during the class. One moment he could concentrate, the next one he was distracted by Taehyung’s slender fingers drawing a scheme on his notebook, then he focused again and understood, but the next moment he had lost something in the discourse again. Tae, noticing this, asked him which part he had missed and quickly explained it to him under his breath, which was surely nice of him, but again, his deep voice was muttering in his ear and his fingers were pointing to Jimin’s notebook, which was even more distracting. He had big hands. </p>
<p>This pattern repeated itself for a couple of times, but incredibly, the lesson came to a halt before Jimin expected it. In fact, it seemed to him like he had understood even too much of the class for the lesson to be over already, but apparently a full hour and a half had passed. Apparently, for once, Jimin wasn’t going to need Hoseok to run him through biology lessons – it was incredible just how much knowledge fairies could store in their brain if they wanted to, and Hobi never refused to give Jimin a hand in biology when he asked for it.</p>
<p>The walk back to the hotel was quicker than expected, maybe because everyone was speeding up at the prospect of lunch. The meal was similar to the ones served at school cafeteria, but the ingredients tasted decidedly better.</p>
<p>Jimin found himself seated at the same table as Taehyung, despite not being close to him – but for some reason, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, a couple of other kids from their room were seated at the same table, then a guy from Tae’s basketball team joined in and Jisoo appeared with a friend of hers, a dark-haired girl named Jennie. The eight of them occupied a whole table, and lunch was spent chatting about everything that could come to their minds. Topics changed from the lesson just attended, to prospects of what the weekend would bring, to school and sports and music – and Jimin’s dance expertise even came up, earning enthusiastic praise from Jennie. All things considered, lunch time was over way to soon.</p>
<p>Students had been given a bit of free time after lunch, while the rest of the afternoon would include two other lessons with a short break in between. After dinner, it was free time again with the possibility to join organized leisure activities, until professor-mandated curfew at 10:30, with the recommendation to keep quiet after that and the absolute prohibition of organizing gatherings of any sort in one of the rooms or anywhere else.</p>
<p>From the bottle of vodka Jimin had seen in one of his roommate’s bags, he highly doubted many people were going to respect the rules, though.</p>
<p>"Not that I’m cheering you on to drink that awfully fruit-flavored vodka, but remember that if you decide to sneak around and then a professor catches you, we can make you disappear in an instant" Yoongi had winked.</p>
<p>Both Jimin and Taehyung decided to spend their breaks napping and catching up on the hours they had not slept that previous night, but fifteen minutes after moving around his bedsheets restlessly, Jimin realized he was way too hyped-up about everything to be able to close his eyes. With Taehyung quietly asleep, curled on his side in a way that made Jimin’s heart explode with tenderness, the blonde sneaked out of the room on his tip toes and made for the lake, where he knew Yoongi and Hoseok were bound to be.</p>
<p>On his way down the outdoor stairs, he spotted a familiar figure sitting at one of the wooden pic-nic style tables in front of the hotel.</p>
<p>It was Namjoon.</p>
<p>What struck Jimin, was that he was not on his own, head buried in a Russian classic or something of the sort, but he was enthusiastically chatting with a few other people. In fact, he was sitting comfortably on one end of a pic-nic table, his feet on the bench, and it looked like everyone was listening to what he was saying with undivided attention. Not only, but from the few words Jimin could grasp, it did not seem like he was talking about class – rather about an interesting piece of news, or something that had happened to him.</p>
<p>Jimin had not seen him in the morning, because he had attended the more advanced biology class with the other professors, but for some reason, he did not expect to find him chatting and laughing so casually with so many people. He recognized one as the boy who had sat next to him on the bus – alright, he had friends then. Quite a few friends. Not that Jimin knew that many students from the last year, but… but… but maybe he had simply assumed Namjoon to be too invested in anything scholastic to have time for a social life. And he had possibly been wrong, but it was too difficult to picture Namjoon like this. Friendly and human.</p>
<p>The older boy’s eyes met Jimin’s for a second, but his initial surprise was immediately replaced by a dimpled smile, as his friends talked animatedly around him. The younger boy was once again quick to acknowledge him with a motion of his head, then jumped off the last few steps and immediately made for the lakeside.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jimin had urged Hoseok and Yoongi to explore the surroundings before lunch, and he would have bet his right hand he was going to find them by the lake.</p>
<p>The fairies had once explained to him that they could appear in fully-human form, no wings and magical accessories, to be perfectly undetectable among humans, but they didn’t do that often. Therefore, despite the fact that the entrance to the lake closer to the lodge was hidden behind trees, branches and greens, Jimin simply expected to find Yoongi and Hobi splashing around in animal form, like they always did to be certain no one could detect them.</p>
<p>This was why he was so taken aback when he saw two distinctively human forms discussing beneath a big willow tree, that it took him a while to recognize that while the one facing him was Yoongi, the taller figure was definitely not Hoseok.</p>
<p>They weren’t talking too earnestly, but their body language was speaking for them. Yoongi had his arms crossed, but one of his hands was moving slowly in circles, as if he was trying to explain something, his right feet thumping the ground and his eyes fixed on the other person. The second figure was partially hidden by the tree and had his arms by his sides, but when it was his turn to speak, he used them to accompany his words.</p>
<p>Jimin could not hear him precisely, but the tone seemed hushed, maybe a bit preoccupied. When one of his hands touched Yoongi’s arm, the fairy immediately tensed but did not remove it; then, his eyes wandered to the side and his stare caught Jimin's figure. A few seconds passed. The other person noticed the switch in his focus, and turned around to see where Yoongi was looking.</p>
<p>Jimin was definitely too far from them to make out the features of the man’s face precisely, but his hair color was striking, and a vague idea was good enough to recognize him from that time Hoseok had printed his picture to use as dart target practice.</p>
<p>It was Kim Seokjin.</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I apologize for the kinda short chapter (I guess?), all the other ones are longer, especially the last ones - prologue and epilogue excluded, oc. Now that we are almost halfway through the fic I am ecstatic for the positive opinions and kudos, I only hope the rest of it doesn't disappoint you!! T_T</p>
<p>A lot of mentions this chapter... just to be clear... Park Jin Young is GOT7's Junior...</p>
<p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think! </em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, fabulous character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter</strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm... see you on tuesday for the second part of the trip! :3</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Single</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The biology trip is in full swing. Jimin and Taehyung are roommates (<em>and they were roommates!</em>), and Seokjin has showed up looking for Yoongi. Let's see what the rest of Friday brings, who will laugh and who will cry (maybe). </p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5Ma3BlNVDtn3JiwMEafSaq?si=qtb14XPIQ1Obq3C9fq_Hnw">Single</a> by The Neighbourhood.<br/> <br/>I think this is the longest chapter, apart from 9... enjoy!<br/> <br/></p>
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<p>Jimin stood frozen in his place for just a second, because the next one he was stalking towards the two fairies. He was not one to get into fights – but he would fight for Hoseok any moment.</p>
<p>It seemed to take a moment for Seokjin to realize who the boy was.</p>
<p>"Ah…" he turned around, leaning against the tree with one elbow: "So nice to finally meet you, Jimin-ah"</p>
<p>He was wearing a white shirt with a black and grey brooch made of shiny gems pinned on the left side. He had black formal pants that fitted his long legs perfectly – probably tailor-made, Jimin assumed – and a variety of sparkling rings on his fingers. As he came closer, the boy realized that not only was he tall, even taller than Hoseok, but that his shoulders were quite broad and his presence imposing. Were it not for its casual manners, the combination of his stature, his posture and his facial features would have surely been intimidating.</p>
<p>"What is going on?" Jimin tried his best to pose the question at Yoongi, not really knowing what to expect from a millennia-old magical person who was not his fairy godparent.</p>
<p>"Well, what is going on is that we were wrong, because Jin just materialized on the branch next to me while I was <em>extremely busy</em> taking a nap" Yoongi explained calmly.</p>
<p>"You could have just gone on with the nap love, I was going to join you without disturbing…" Jin casted a side glance at Yoongi, a smirk appearing on his lips.</p>
<p>"Yeah, that’s exactly why I woke up; anyway, Jimin… we were talking of some unresolved stuff, and I hope you can understand that. – Yoongi went on – We were also far from being done" his piercing dark eyes fixed the similarly colored ones of Seokjin.</p>
<p>"The only unresolved thing I can notice here is sexual tension, but-"</p>
<p>"<em>HEAVEN’S SAKE!</em> – Jimin interrupted before he could go on, waving his hands in front of him, embarrassed at the shamelessness of the taller fairy – Where even is Hobi?"</p>
<p>"He went for a swim in the lake as I took a nap, I don’t know" Yoongi shrugged.</p>
<p>"Should we go back to where we left off, then?" asked Jin, his hand going back to touch the other’s arm.</p>
<p>It was evident that the purple-haired fairy was trying to ignore Jimin’s existence just as much as the boy was trying to avoid his.</p>
<p>"We could go back to the branch" he continued. Jimin’s eyes detected that Jin’s fingers were starting to trace small circles on Yoongi’s arm.</p>
<p>"I think I need my fairy now, thank you very much – I cannot wish for you to disappear altogether but, I mean, that’s why you are here in the first place, right? To help us and grant our wishes? I really need Yoongi right now so-" Jimin persisted, trying is his best in looking down on Jin.</p>
<p>"Alright, alright – Jin brought his hands up, laughing – We have the whole weekend, after all, to solve whatever tension there is…" and with a wink (obviously directed at Yoongi) he was gone in a puff of lilac smoke, even more glittery than the one that usually accompanied Hoseok and Yoongi.</p>
<p>"What the hell?"</p>
<p>"Don’t look at me like that, I had no idea he would show up here. I don’t even know if he simply spotted me by chance or already knew about our assignment"</p>
<p>"Why did he even show up? I thought you were bound to your godchildren" Jimin questioned.</p>
<p>"Yeah, we are... it's not impossible to stray far, unless you take a quick trip back to Fairy Land, but is is <em>very, very</em> unlikely"</p>
<p>"But Jungkook’s not here"</p>
<p>Yoongi’s answer came in the form of a raised eyebrow and blinking eyes.</p>
<p>"Oh crap… it’s not Jungkook… - Jimin realized, scratching his forehead with the back of his hand - But who is it, then? Wheein and Chaeyoung are not here, and no one else was with them"</p>
<p>"I don’t know, they could have been, maybe we just didn’t see them... maybe it is someone you don't know... or maybe it's Jungkook and there is something weird going on" Yoongi crossed his arms, his tone matter-of-factly, but Jimin was restlessly pacing up and down.</p>
<p>It had been a good thing he had not approached Jungkook about it, then, but not only was he back at the starting point in his quest for a fairy-blessed kid, Seokjin had also moved on to his billionth attack on Yoongi’s affections.</p>
<p>"Okay, we definitely need to find out who Seokjin is assigned to. Once we do, we can make that person happy enough so to wish for his own godparent to be gone-"</p>
<p>"Wait, Jimin. Wait a second – Yoongi interrupted him, a hand on his shoulder to stop his pacing – First thing, remember we cannot reveal who another godparent is assigned to. You could send Hoseok and I around to spy, but even if we found out, we could not tell you. You must try to see for your own. I think Seokjin himself was on the point of telling me, with the constant teasing, but even if he did – and he hasn’t yet – I could not tell you" he let his hand slide off his shoulder, and continued.</p>
<p>"Second thing, I appreciate your care for Hoseok and I, but that’s not enough reason to try and take someone’s fairy away from them – Jimin tried to say something, but Yoongi shushed him – <em>Yes, Jimin,</em> even if you would do it by trying to make that person as happy as possible and with all the good intentions in the world. Which would be very difficult in the first place, because you wouldn’t know all the reasons why a fairy was assigned to them" Jimin’s shoulders had sunk, his expression saddened.</p>
<p>"But, Jimin-ah, you do not need to worry about Hope and I. True, Seokjin can be a bit of... <em>an inconvenience</em>, sometimes, for the two of us, but we’ve been through these petty fights and always come out of it together. And yes, yes, I will follow your suggestion and try to be more direct next time he makes an advance. Okay?" he was looking at Jimin with tenderness in his eyes.</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay…" the boy conceded.</p>
<p>"This does not mean I don’t want to know who he is assigned to, though. That should be fun to find out"</p>
<p>Jimin started lighting up again, a conspiring smirk curling his lips.</p>
<p>"Very well then…"</p>
<p>"Hey! What did I miss? The water’s fantastic, a bit cold but enjoyable once you stop caring about your feet!» a voice coming from the bushes shielding the closest access to the lakeside had them both turn immediately.</p>
<p>Hoseok had assumed human form too, no one being around and Yoongi being human-looking himself, and was walking absent-mindedly towards them, his clothes dry but his hair still damp as a magical hair-dryer floated mid-air around his head.</p>
<p>He was most definitely not going to like what he had missed.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>It took way longer than necessary to explain to Hobi what had happened because of the enormity of his reactions.</p>
<p>His<em> “WHAT?”</em> was so loud Jimin feared he woke up Taehyung at the lodge. His face turned completely red and for a moment Jimin found he could not hear a single word, but Hoseok’s mouth was moving so fast it would have made professional rappers hide in shame – then it turned out he had muted Jimin’s ears because he did not want the boy to hear his godparent cursing. Cursing at Jin, obviously. Jimin told them he had already heard them all, but Yoongi said he would have been surprised at what Hoseok could come up with in the rare occasions he was that enraged.</p>
<p>After a whole lot of cursing, explaining, wondering and hypothesis-making, the three headed back to the hotel.</p>
<p>The fairies could not appear in their animal form in front of the others, because students were clearly not allowed to bring their pets with them, so they opted to turn into two enamel pins depicting a sundown and a luscious forest – the pink and orange one for Yoongi and the one in shades of green for Hoseok. They would stay pinned to his chest, but with their eyes alert to scan for possible signs of Jin.</p>
<p>The walk back to the lodge took so little Jimin feared Hobi’s screams had actually woken people up, but nothing told him as much.</p>
<p>As he was rounding one of the corners of the bedroom building, directed for the stairs on the other side, he spotted Taehyung.</p>
<p>He had not given much attention to the facilities surrounding the hotel, but it turned out that close enough to the back of the bedrooms' building there was a concrete platform with chalk lines on the ground and a tall pole on one end. A tall pole with a basket attached to it – a small basketball court, big enough to exercise your shots but not to play a serious game. It was not adjacent to the hotel wall, but a few circle-shaped tiles scattered on the ground led to it from where Jimin was standing. Taehyung was focused on the basketball in his hands and the basket above his head, and had not noticed him.</p>
<p>"Oh, finally" Hobi sighed.</p>
<p>He was not back to his usual overly cheerful self, because he knew pretty well that if Jin had showed up once, he would keep showing up for the whole weekend, but he was clearly trying not to think about it.</p>
<p>"Let's see if he is as good as they say he is" Yoongi whispered.</p>
<p>"Is that a little envy I hear?" the other teased.</p>
<p>"Why would he be jealous?" Jimin asked, observing Taehyung assuming different shooting positions and scoring every single time.</p>
<p>"Oh right... you don't know about Yoongi's basketball days"</p>
<p>"WhAT?" Jimin tried his best not to raise his voice.</p>
<p>"Well, yes, alright, I played basketball agonistically for a long time. But that was ages ago, before many of your ancestors were even born" </p>
<p>"What's keeping you from playing now?" Jimin really didn't understand the dynamics behind jobs in the Fairy community.</p>
<p>"Well, I'm not in contact with many people from my old team anymore. I still enjoy it during free time, it calms me down, but I have only played relatively few tournaments since I started god-parenting. It's pretty absorbing, you know..."</p>
<p>"And long gone are the days of Suga..."</p>
<p>"The days of who?"</p>
<p>"Oh for Pixies' sake, Hoseok..."</p>
<p>"Suga. His nickname when he played basketball. Comes from shooting guard - that's a position in basketball, Jimin" Hobi added at the boy's confused expression.</p>
<p>"That's... unexpectedly cute?"</p>
<p>"Yes, okay, whatever" it was fun to be the one doing the teasing for once. Yoongi had it coming.</p>
<p>"Sooooo, you could teach me?" Jimin offered with a convincing smile. An occasion to impress Taehyung had been offered to him on a silver plate and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.</p>
<p>"Tell me why would I do that when there is a perfect candidate just in front of you" </p>
<p>"You know I could just wish for it, right?"</p>
<p>"Mh, what was that, Yoongi? Did you hear something?" Hobi had the guts to say.</p>
<p>"Nope. Absolutely nothing" </p>
<p>"Oh my God, you are unbelievable..." Jimin sighed, leaning against the building's wall and quickly pondering his options in his mind.</p>
<p>He already knew what he was going to do, though.</p>
<p>"Alright. I already told you I'm not going to hold back, so here's to making a fool out of myself for the second time" and with a push of his shoulders, he was off the wall and walking in the direction of the small basketball court.</p>
<p>He approached Taehyung quietly, his hands in the pockets of his jeans not to disturb him. Tae shot again – and it went in. Recovering the ball, he turned around and noticed Jimin as he started dribbling back to his original position.</p>
<p>"Hey!" he greeted him, the early afternoon breeze gently tumbling his hair.</p>
<p>"Hey" Jimin wasn’t able to hold a big smile back.</p>
<p>"I thought you were gone to get more dessert"</p>
<p>"Oh, no… I just couldn’t sleep, so I went to see what the lakeside is like" more or less, considering that he hadn’t really set foot in the beach. Hoseok even had the audacity to snort out loud and he had to cover it up by rubbing his own nose.</p>
<p>"Is it nice?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, very… very green, despite the season, some trees are starting to show some color again. I bet it is really beautiful in summer here. Fall too, probably"</p>
<p>"Mh… I knew about this place before – well, everyone does – but I didn’t imagine it to be so beautiful, nor so spacious. You could come back thrice and still not see the half of it"</p>
<p>"Do you like trekking?" Jimin asked.</p>
<p>"Yes, I don’t mind it… not that I would do it every weekend, but from time to time hiking and camping seems fun. Do you enjoy it?"</p>
<p>"I’m not really one for camping, but a nice walk, why not?" Jimin shrugged.</p>
<p>"Shame you won’t want to come back to explore it then" Tae faked a pout before concentrating on the next shot.</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah… well… tastes change, you know" very smooth Jimin, very smooth. He cursed under his breath, thankful Taehyung was facing the basket.</p>
<p>"Would you like to try?" Tae turned to him after he got the ball back, holding it in his hand towards him.</p>
<p>Jimin glanced expressively from the ball to him.</p>
<p>"Oh, c’mon. I will give you an advantage. We can do best of fives but you start closer…"</p>
<p>"Alright, if you ask like that, I will" Jimin entered the pitch and – surprisingly enough – caught the ball in his hands without breaking a finger bone: "Where do I stand to use my deserved advantage?"</p>
<p>Tae pointed at a spot in front of him, but with the chalk lines so faded away it was hard to tell. Maybe he simply knew by instinct. Jimin positioned himself.</p>
<p>"No, wait…" he turned in the direction of the voice and found Tae next to him. He gently placed his hands on his shoulders and moved him diagonally to the left. His hands were warm through his jacket. And big. Had he already said that Taehyung had big hands?</p>
<p>Remember to breathe.</p>
<p>"Okay, here’s the right place. I want to play by the rules"</p>
<p>"Don’t tell me about rules…" Jimin thought, or so he thought.</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Nothing, nothing… here we go" he scolded himself – mentally this time, and adopted the shooting position the P.E. teacher had taught them some years ago.</p>
<p>It was not about Taehyung anymore now, it was about winning – and Jimin knew how to concentrate and give his all to something, though it usually turned out better for dance than for school.</p>
<p>The first shot went in. Jimin exhaled, but didn’t say anything in fear of jinxing it: it was Tae who congratulated him on the good shot.</p>
<p>"Shut up, you won’t get me distracted with praise" oh Lord, was he trying to flirt? <em>Was that a half-assed attempt at flirting?</em></p>
<p>"Then make me"</p>
<p>"Wha…"</p>
<p>Taehyung grinned, then assumed the shooting position and scored quickly.</p>
<p>"Let’s see" he said as he shot the ball back to Jimin.</p>
<p>The blonde was still dumbfounded but managed to focus, not wanting to let Taehyung in his head when he could score a tie with one of the best basketball players in school. Tae surely meant to "shut him up" by proving he was truly good at free shots, that was it. Nothing else. Nothing more. </p>
<p>The second shot went in too. This time, an enthusiastic scream came out of Jimin’s mouth, followed by his fists flowing into the air and a little jump on the spot. Tae collected the ball by himself – he was shaking his head, but his lips were curled in a smile as well.</p>
<p>Then, he missed.</p>
<p>Or, well, he hit the backboard and the basket, but the ball bounced twice on the ring and then fell out.</p>
<p>"Fuck" his hands went to ruffle his hair but he said no more, waiting for his opponent. So, Jimin was beating Taehyung. He was doing it. He was shutting him up. And that’s when he stopped doing it, too.</p>
<p>Blame it on the euphoria of being in first place, on the light breeze messing up his trajectory or on Tae’s presence, all of his next three shots went out. And all of Taehyung’s went in. The third shot was followed by curses, the fourth one by a prolonged <em>“no”</em> and a crouch, the fifth and last one – when Tae had already won by a long shot, so Jimin really didn’t need to feel the pressure any longer but still missed – had him lying on the ground in despair.</p>
<p>"That’s it. Leave me here and let me soak in my humiliation" he let out a dramatic sigh.</p>
<p>"You, humiliation? The day you mess up an easy ballet step, maybe, not the one you fail at something you do not even care for" Tae laughed, a hand reaching out to help Jimin up.</p>
<p>"I was just being dramatic, but thank you for the support" he accepted it.</p>
<p>"I have a sixth sense you like being dramatic"</p>
<p>"Mh… possibly. From time to time" he straightened his sweater and adjusted his cuffs.</p>
<p>"As much as I would love to ask for a rematch to let you prove yourself, I think we have to go" Tae’s eyes looked beyond the hotel side, where a group of students was assembling, the chit chat becoming louder and clearer.</p>
<p>"That’s <em>soooo</em> unlucky" Jimin whined sarcastically as the two made their way up to the bedroom to pick their stuff and join the second class of the day.</p>
<p>But in reality, he wasn’t that sarcastic.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>This time the professors taught the class close enough to the hotel because they needed to bring with them some lab material and could not carry it around in their backpacks. Jimin was very thankful for that, even if the spot chosen for the class was next to the tree he had found Yoongi and Seokjin by, and that brought to mind his fairy-mission and distracted him from class constantly. He tried to look around, but could not spot purple-liliac hair-ties nor pins nor pencils. He could not spot Jin.</p>
<p>By the time the first class had finished, and the second one was in full course, Jimin found that he had grown quite accustomed to Tae’s presence by his side.</p>
<p>Not that he didn’t feel the occasional shiver up his spine or goosebumps when he leaned close or laid his hand on the crook of his elbow, but he wasn’t as distracted as the morning, definitely not as distracted as during their history work meetings.</p>
<p>About the history work, the deadline was a little more than a week away, and even if Jimin was not as satisfied with his part as he wanted to, he had good hopes for the final work, and meant to improve what he could. Two weeks had already passed since his parents’ dance ultimatum, and while he was not doing as bad as before, he wasn’t doing as best as he hoped he could either. His grades in history tended to be good, but an excellent mark would have looked good in the bunch for sure. Now he needed to focus on biology, though. Biology, maths and physics.</p>
<p>Easy enough, right?</p>
<p>Jimin tried to keep school out of his mind, but the moment he got lost during the last topic of the day a wave of negative thoughts crashed into his mind. Seeing Namjoon at dinner didn’t help either. The boy waved at him again, but made no sign of wanting to approach him, and Jimin was glad for it. Blinking, he turned around to see if he could spot a trace of purple on Namjoon’s clothes… but there seemed to be none. The fairy hunt was not going well either, as Hobi’s occasional exhortations to be aware of his surroundings and suspicious of every person reminded him.</p>
<p>Jimin successfully faked a unfazed façade through dinner, but his hopes and humor really went up again only at the prospect of the bonfire.</p>
<p>The Friday night activity, in fact, was a bonfire of salvaged wood from fallen trees, held in a dedicated area of the park, a clearing empty of grass situated up a hill close to the lodge. Not many of the students had witnessed a bonfire before, and even those who had, did not want to miss a massive bonfire under a hopefully clear night sky – were it to sing along with their friends, to snuggle with their crush, or to disappear in the woods with a bottle under the jacket the moment professors turned the other way.</p>
<p>An unknown might spurred Jimin: it was the perfect moment to catch Seokjin.</p>
<p>Literally everyone was going to be there, and if Jimin could not spot him in disguised form, they could just wait for him to come look for Yoongi and tail him back to his godchild. The only problem in all of this was leaving Taehyung’s side, but Jimin thought that maybe the boy would have liked some time to chat with his other acquaintances. And maybe <em>– just maybe –</em> feigning a meet-up with friends from other classes was going to make him popular and desirable in the eyes of Tae. Or at least less clingy. Jimin prayed Taehyung did not consider him clingy.</p>
<p>With renewed spirit, he showered as quickly as he could (considerably slow), dressed, picked up his puffy jacket and warm gloves, and joined the stream of students climbing the hill for the bonfire.</p>
<p>Jimin had pictured it in his head, but the feeling it radiated was completely different. It was like warmth spreading through his body and mind at the same time, alternated with a chilly breath of wind breaching through and reminding him of the cold and dark night around him. It was comforting and enwrapping, inviting enough to lose yourself in the flames and the cold. It was exactly what he needed.</p>
<p>"So I guess I’ll see you later, then?" Tae’s voice had him open his eyes. The boy had joined him as he was walking uphill.</p>
<p>"Oh… yeah. I’ll catch up with my friends and come find you" Jimin smiled.</p>
<p>Him, leaving Taehyung for his friends – a fantasy novel.</p>
<p>Tae nodded and made for the crowd in front of him. He would surely find someone he knew and be engaged in quick conversation in a matter of seconds – Jimin already thought he had seen a group of people waving at him and motioning him to come close as he approached. He heard a boy calling him V, his basketball nickname that usually came up from cheers in the stands when he scored multiple times in a match: it stood for victory, and it was also the transcription in roman characters of his jersey number, 5. Just another one of the things that made him so effortlessly cool.</p>
<p>"Alright… - he breathed - Let the hunt begin"</p>
<p>Hoseok and Yoongi had transformed into noiseless flies and were already twirling and flying around Jimin's head. They were going to separate like they did at the movies, a small mic in the godchild's ear, but it was vital that the boy found Jin himself as the fairies could not have revealed whom he belonged to.</p>
<p>Jimin started circling the crowd of people gathered at the bonfire. Most were standing, chatting, a few were singing accompanied by a guitar that had popped out of somewhere. A table in a corner offered warm, non-alcoholic drinks, and the teachers were talking quietly next to it. Unfortunately, dark clouds blocked the anticipated night sky view, but fortunately, they did not threaten impendent rain.</p>
<p>The boy went in and out of the crowd, scanning people as he went by, occasionally apologizing when he stared for too long: "I had mistaken you for someone else", "No worries", and so on. He spotted a guy with a worn-out violet beanie, but there was nothing magical about it. A few girls were wearing liliac jumpers, but clothing was not a first-choice disguise. He felt the fabric of a girl’s violet scarf between his fingers, but no sound came from it.</p>
<p>Yoongi had told him that sometimes in the past Jin had turned into a pin himself, but he could not remember much else. Apart from the cat and the Hoseok-preferred ferret. Hobi had told him to watch out for snakes, though, because that would have been a particularly fitting form for Jin – and one he particularly detested – but Jimin doubted he wanted to be seen by someone like that  and crash the party.</p>
<p>After a few minutes of nothing, they were obliged to turn to what Jimin already knew they would have had to do. They needed to settle things, after all.</p>
<p>They were going to Yoongi-bait him.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Cat-Yoongi wandered around a tree far enough from the bonfire so that students could not see him through the forest, but close enough he could hear them chuckle and chat. He had made a big show of trotting through people’s legs and quickly vanishing in the trees like a wild cat would do, and he was sure Jin had seen him, or smelled him or something. Hoseok was waiting close by, and Jimin too, but closer to the clearing. Neither of them was supposed to be seen by Jin, the pretext for it all being Yoongi needing to talk to the other fairy. Jimin thought Hobi would make a surprise appearance – but the important, anyways, was that he could follow the purple-haired fairy back to his godchild, undetected.</p>
<p>The moment he heard footsteps approaching and lightly crunching branches, he retreated behind a tree.</p>
<p>"It appears like it’s not me who seeks you out all the time, then" Seokjin circled the tree and quietly spoke to the cat. He was human-looking, dressed same as before, but a long dark-grey coat had been thrown over his shirt. Couldn’t he just stay in animal form? Yoongi grumbled and transformed himself too. He was not going to talk to him from the ground up.</p>
<p>"I wasn’t sure you would be here" he crossed his arms.</p>
<p>"Why wouldn’t I? - he shrugged - So, how are you?" he casually leaned against the tree with one arm.</p>
<p>"Jin…"</p>
<p>"Yes…?"</p>
<p>"We have done this before"</p>
<p>"But never concluded"</p>
<p>"Yes, that’s the point" Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.</p>
<p>"I just want to talk. Can’t I say hi to a friend? It’s been ages, and I’ve missed you…"</p>
<p>"Again, that’s the point. That I feel like you never just want to talk" Yoongi was more exhausted than angry.</p>
<p>"It doesn’t look to me like we ever did much else… not that I would complain, of course…" Jin quickly scanned the area around him, probably to see if anyone was around.</p>
<p>"See? That’s what I mean. You have to stop that, or I won’t act like your friend next time we meet"</p>
<p>"Like what? C’mon, Yoongi-ah, you know this is me, it’s my personality. I am just like this with everyone, and you never said a thing about it"</p>
<p>"Listen, I don’t know if you really are like this with everyone. With some, maybe. With all? I doubt it. I hope it, not for others, but for you first of all - he got up from the tree - And for me too. I cannot pretend I’m your friend every other half-century we happen to meet – if that’s just a random event, after all – and then the second the opportunity presents itself you try to make <em>something else</em> happen"</p>
<p>"Technically incorrect, something else has <em>already</em> happened... millennia ago… but I remember… vaguely. I would like to re-fresh my memories…" Jin joked.</p>
<p>"Oh, for pixies’ sake, I forgot how stubborn you can be" Yoongi was not going to lose his composure, Jimin knew that, but it looked like that was going to take a considerable amount of restraint.</p>
<p>"Yoongi, who cares, I-"</p>
<p>"No, wait. Let me do the talking for once" Jimin's fairy interrupted the other, and after attesting the other's silence, he went on.</p>
<p>"I liked what we shared, when we shared it. Then it was over, and we were both fine with that, or at least you told me as much. I wanted to keep you as a friend, I really did, because you were special to me and you still are. I still want you as a friend.... but I’m married, Seok-ah" Yoongi paused for a second, and despite what he was being told, Jin smiled tenderly at the nickname.</p>
<p>"I’ve been married for a millennium, and the fact that you act like that towards Hoseok, the fact that every time I let you close to me again you imply certain stuff could happen… even if you "just" joke about it... the way you choose to act every time… I always reduced it to your attitude, or laughed about it, or told you jokingly that it was not going to happen and then went out to have a drink with you anyway… and I thought that was enough. I thought you understood. But it clearly didn't work. Whatever is going on… - Yoongi tried to find the right words - Whatever it is, well, it is hurting Hoseok, and I was too caught up in the bond we once shared to see that, thinking that maybe Hobi was the one who was exaggerating. But now things are clearer. After... after a friend told me something, and I thought a lot about it. I thought back to the last centuries. I was the one who did not understand. So, either you stop with this attitude here and now, and you start acknowledging my fucking husband, or I don’t want to see you again. Ever again"</p>
<p>Yoongi had his hands up.</p>
<p>His words were not rushed, even when his voice cracked on one of the last. His eyes were shiny, from memories of a warmth there was once in his life and that may disappear for good, and from echos of past mistakes. Jin had abandoned himself against the tree, his hands in his pockets keeping the coat close to himself. His stare, for once, was on the ground.</p>
<p>A few seconds passed.</p>
<p>"Ouch" he half-sighed, half-laughed, his eyes meeting Yoongi’s again.</p>
<p>"Seokjin…" Jimin couldn’t say if Yoongi’s tone was more pleading or worried.</p>
<p>"Yes?"</p>
<p>"I…"</p>
<p>"Figured as much"</p>
<p>"I don’t know what I hoped for, but please let me know your answer. You don’t need to do that now, but I need it. I hope you can understand"</p>
<p>"Yeah well… I don’t know if I will be able to stop being myself – he shrugged – but I will respect your wishes" he scoffed, getting away from the tree.</p>
<p>"Jin… why are you here?"</p>
<p>"You would like to know that, now, wouldn’t you?" he teased.</p>
<p>Yoongi did not answer.</p>
<p>"I’ll see you around. Maybe" and with that, man-Jin was gone, while cat-Jin was running through the forest towards the bonfire, and towards Jimin hidden behind a bush. The boy thought he heard Yoongi call after him once, but it seemed like the other fairy had no intention of turning back.</p>
<p>Jimin waited for him to come closer, then followed suit.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Saying that Jimin’s n-tieth try to unmask Seokjin’s godchild was a catastrophe would not be correct. True, he had lost the cat in the crowd in an embarrassingly short time, but at least, the whole thing had brought some kind of clarity and peace to Yoongi. And to Hoseok especially. To both of them, in fact: when Jimin made his way back into the forest, hands in pockets and head dangling in resignation, racking his own brain for what he could do next, he found the two of them making out behind that same tree. Fully clothed, at least, if not for Yoongi’s beanie lying on the ground.</p>
<p>"Oh my God" in one literal second, he had covered his eyes and spun on the heels of his boots.</p>
<p>It seemed like the two fairies hadn't even noticed him.</p>
<p>Jimin had heard stories about kids walking in on their parents having some alone-time, and he wondered if that was what it felt like. He walked back to the bonfire, still defeated but also laughing shamelessly. At least someone was having fun.</p>
<p>He got two paper cups from the messy refreshments’ table and filled them with hot chocolate, grabbing a few marshmallows in his right hand rather than pouring them in the cups – maybe Taehyung didn’t like them, and he wanted to ask first.</p>
<p>He found him casually conversing with a few people, not really anyone he recognized but the hats and scarves and shadows did not help. Tae spotted him behind someone’s shoulder, and Jimin made his way to him around the circle.</p>
<p>"Here" he greeted him, offering the hot chocolate. He felt a bit bad, having left him with a horrible excuse that did not even work out as he wanted to.</p>
<p>"Oh my, don’t tell me they got a refill?" the cup was taken from his hand in a second, gloved fingers brushing past his gently, no trace of resentment on Taehyung’s face. Not that Jimin expected him to be alone and crying – he basically knew everyone around the school. He sipped on it.</p>
<p>"Mh… delicious. Guys, this is Jimin, one of the few who was able to snatch some hot chocolate tonight. I’m feeling very sorry that he is my friend and not yours, but I’m going to enjoy this very much" he lifted his cup in the air. Soft laughter erupted around him, Jimin’s lips curling in a smile.</p>
<p>He had called him his friend.</p>
<p>"Are marshmallows as rare too?" he offered casually, opening up his palm.</p>
<p>"Oh!"</p>
<p>Hands coming from every direction closed on Jimin’s in a few seconds. When they retreated, his palm was empty, and a few of the students were munching on marshmallows.</p>
<p>"Apparently – Tae laughed – Cheers" he lifted his cup again.</p>
<p>"Cheers" Jimin’s cup followed.</p>
<p><em>Something</em> happened in the next few seconds.</p>
<p>Taehyung’s cup touched his lips the moment his eyes met Jimin’s. Jimin looked at him, his lips never leaving the shape of a content, one-sided smile. Tae’s eyes wandered – maybe, maybe not, it was just a second in the shadows – on Jimin’s face. Jimin stared, incapable of moving.</p>
<p>Then the moment was over, a few seconds that felt like minutes, and Tae threw his head back as he delightedly took a sip of his chocolate.</p>
<p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Good evening... we are now HALFWAY THROUGH THE CHAPTERS!!! *throws confetti in the air* I think I consider the second half the best-written one, maybe because I wrote it a couple of weeks after the first part and all the important elements had been abundantly introduced. Idk. Maybe it always is like that for fic writers.</p>
<p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think! </em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, fabulous character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter (I will also post a survey on what you think Jin's business is bc I'm curious!!) </strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm... see you on friday for the last part of the trip and a VERY... VERY... interesting... inch resting... pov.... :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Photograph</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Unfortunately, the biology trip must come to an end. Fortunately, the last days are filled with beautiful moments that will become precious memories.</p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1HNkqx9Ahdgi1Ixy2xkKkL?si=sUni7DtRR26xr-SCfs-vSQ">Photograph</a> by Ed Sheeran.<br/> <br/>I AM VERY VERY VERY EXCITED OMFG PLS LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK and if my plot makes sense!!<br/> <br/></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Trigger Warning: mentions of anxiety and homophobia towards the end of the chapter (the paragraphs are enclosed by asterisks)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
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<p>Thinking about it, the biology trip brought about two possible scenarios.</p>
<p>Scenario number 1, no or too little Taehyung, dreadful days and hours that never passed spent worrying about impossible lessons. Scenario number 2, Taehyung’s presence, four days that went by in what felt like an hour. Jimin would have never traded scenario 2 for scenario 1, but the way minutes ate one another and rushed to the end of Sunday was almost scary.</p>
<p>One cannot ignore the fact that, with respect to Friday, the rest of the days were filled with many of Tae’s acquaintances from the bonfire, so Jimin had only a few moments to spend alone in the boy’s company, but it did not irritate him in the slightest. Far from being able to call the rest of the company his close friends, he would now be able to approach Tae’s circle in the corridors without being a stranger nor interrupting discussions of boys and girls whom had no idea of who he was. That changed <em>everything</em>, in his perspective. He could dare a bit more.</p>
<p>For once since this whole refused-wish mess had started, he felt truly optimistic and excited at the prospects of his future relation with Taehyung and the social life that awaited him for the rest of his high school year. Sure, much still needed to be done, and there were no assurances, but at least someone had thrown him a life jacket in the middle of the sea. That was enough.</p>
<p>Saying that there were no <em>Tae-min</em>-only events during the rest of the trip would not be correct, either. There were trivial things and routine behavior like brushing teeth together in the morning and lending pens and pencils during class, sharing an anecdote on the way to the next lesson, or pairing up together for rounds of card games before dinner – someone even said they made a pretty good team, the two of them.</p>
<p>These were all moments that Jimin rejoiced in, but there were a few he would have written down in a diary to treasure forever, was he not too embarrassed at the thought of putting his feelings into words on a blank page.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was the time, on Saturday morning, Jimin had the certainty Taehyung took a picture of him. Well, not that he tried to hide it.</p>
<p>They had been left to get to the lake-side clearing on their own, since they all knew the path. The two of them had passed by a spot where the path was large enough for multiple people to walk side by side, and the left end of it was directly overlooking the lake, which shined brightly ten meters or so below it. Scattered trees skirted the edge of the path on the lake's side, and Jimin had sat down in a point where the sunlight managed to filter through the leaves, dangling his feet in the emptiness below. He had raised his chin up and angled his face to catch the sunlight, rejoicing in the warmth tickling his skin and in the fresh air of the morning. He was immersed in his own space, in empty thoughts that had him detached from his surroundings. He then heard a shutter click.</p>
<p>Opening his left lid against the sun, he saw Tae leaning against the tree nearby.</p>
<p>"I can delete it if you don’t like it, but it was too good an opportunity to let it go by" the boy lowered the camera. It was an old, film one, so he had to wait to get back home and develop it to see the result.</p>
<p>"Are you kidding? I love having my pictures taken. As long as the photographer knows what they’re doing" Jimin had brought a hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light.</p>
<p>"Cool then, because I may have taken another couple from the back" a little smile appeared on his lips.</p>
<p>"You should tell me next time though, so I can make sure I look my best"</p>
<p>"Where’s the artistry in that?"</p>
<p>"Well, then you should tell me so I can make sure I don’t have drool coming out of my mouth or dirt on my clothes"</p>
<p>"Where’s the fun in that?" Tae laughed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was the time, on Sunday afternoon, they decided to skip a much-needed after-lunch nap to try the cold waters of the lake. Jimin, pretending to actually have gone to the beach before, directed Tae to the shores. Despite the sun being the warmest at that hour, the water was freezing cold.</p>
<p>"It actually isn’t so bad, once you stop feeling your feet altogether" Jimin declared, his washed-denim jeans rolled up to his knees. The contrast between the sweat on his forehead and the fact he could barely move his toes was kind-of scary.</p>
<p>Taehyung rolled up his trousers and got in the water very, very slowly. They had crossed the possibility of swimming off the list, first of all because the water was way too cold, but also because lakes were quite dangerous and Jimin would never risk his face, let alone his life, especially now that it was starting to smile back at him.</p>
<p>The bottom of the lake was partly earth, but most of it was covered in little rocks and stone fragments, so not only you had to worry about your toes freezing but also about the possibility of tripping, losing your balance and have everything else below zero too. Quite surprisingly, Taehyung was a lot less gracious and stable advancing on the rocks, but much more blasphemous in his choice of words. Well, not that surprisingly, thinking about Jimin’s ballet background, but one just assumed Tae would be good at anything the first time he attempted it.</p>
<p>"Come here" Jimin gestured for him to come forward, having found a relatively flat and wide rock.</p>
<p>"Why did I bring my camera with me – Tae momentarily lost his balance with his left foot – WHY ON EARTH WOULD I BRING MY CAMERA WITH ME" he let out in a shriek.</p>
<p>"Try to understand if the stones are stable before putting your weight on them" Jimin suggested without sarcasm.</p>
<p>"Jimin, if I fall you have to swear you’ll save my camera and not me"</p>
<p>"What? I’ll catch you, not the camera"</p>
<p>"I can survive the fall, the camera can’t"</p>
<p>"But if I catch you the camera won’t fall"</p>
<p>"If you catch me I’ll just bring you in the water with me, I weight more than you"</p>
<p>"Well, excuse me, I’m stronger than you think" now Jimin was slightly irritated. More amused, peraphs. A good way to be irritated. He caught a glimpse of Hoseok and Yoongi as the two fairies – now freshwater fish – swam around his calves, and realized he hadn’t asked for a single wish in the last few hours.</p>
<p>Taehyung looked too concentrated on his next step to clap back. He seemed to have found stability, and exhaled loudly before planting his foot down for the next step - but he lost balance once again, this time close enough to risk a fall. In a second, Jimin had grabbed him by his left elbow and pulled him in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>"See?"</p>
<p>Taehyung had a hand on his chest, trying to calm himself down: "I literally just saw my life passing in front of my eyes, wait a damn minute"</p>
<p>"Wasn't I the dramatic one, here?"</p>
<p>"Well, consider it an insight on the real myself" the other one said jokingly.</p>
<p>He adjusted himself on the flat rock. He inhaled, exhaled and admired the vastity of the lake. He snapped a few pictures. A minute went by.</p>
<p>"Now what?"</p>
<p>"Now we go back to the beach before our feet detach themselves from our bodies once and for all" Jimin shrugged.</p>
<p>"Sometimes I do things I do not really understand. Example: why didn’t I dip into the lake up to my ankles at the beach, but decided to come here and risk my life for the same exact view?" Taehyung questioned, a mockingly serious tone.</p>
<p>"Well, where’s the fun in that?" Jimin laughed.</p>
<p>They went back to the beach holding on each other for stability.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was the time, on early Monday morning, when they definitely breached the professor-mandated curfew.</p>
<p>Well, it was the last night of the trip, 99% of people did, even Namjoon – to Jimin’s bemusement. After getting scolded because they were making too much noise, many of the students sneaked out of their rooms and made for the lakeside, for the forest, for the bonfire hill, for the clearing, anywhere that was far enough from the lodge, not to be heard, but not too far, to be able to find their way back with several sips of alcohol in their bodies.</p>
<p>Jimin found himself in a group partly composed by the people he had eaten with on the first day, partly by the bonfire folks and partly by his roommates. One of them said he knew a place to go, and everyone kind of trusted him on the spot.</p>
<p>They ended up in slightly leveled grass field 10 minutes from the lakeside. There was no signed path to reach it, but many feet had clearly stomped on the grass and bent it down in the days prior. Students chatted and laughed under their breath until they reckoned they were far enough from the lodge and picked up their tones again.</p>
<p>Once they got to the field, Jimin was so star-struck he froze in his steps. Most of the areas they had hung out at were covered by trees, and the ones that weren’t, like the lake-side clearing they went to for classes, they had only been to during the day. Considering that bonfire night was slightly cloudy, it was the first night Jimin saw the magnificent night sky over the park reserve. The stars were so bright he could make up the features of students starting to crowd the field, and they filled up the sky to the extent it was difficult to find an empty patch of black. Jimin had never, ever seen a night sky so beautiful in his whole life. He struggled to believe it was real, and that he wasn’t dreaming.</p>
<p>Trying to shake off the sense it was all really happening and it wasn’t just the most breathtaking dream he had ever had became next-level difficult when Taehyung walked by. He smelled his perfume and heard the low tone of his hushed laugh before he saw him, but the effect was the same if not worse.</p>
<p>They all reached the center of the field, then started plopping down in random spots on the humid grass. There was no way they could light a fire there, so Jimin was thankful he had brought every single piece of clothing he owned to wrap himself up and shield his body from the cold. He sat next to Taehyung and some kids from school, among which he remembered two named Ho Joon and Hyung Won.</p>
<p>He was grateful no one had decided to bring to the open the games they had started playing crumpled inside the bedrooms.</p>
<p>Not that he had not spent the last hour waiting for the bottle to spin on him and a certain someone, but having over 30 people play at the same time surely lowered your chances of being picked. After a few people had made out and it had become boring, it had been the turn for the classic truth or dare, ended very soon and in an abrupt discussion of why standing on the edge of the balcony was not a good idea, even if they were on the first floor. Words got heated, insults were thrown and a few minutes later professors were knocking on their door. Hence, the escapade to the great outdoors. Jimin had feared the cold but now that they were out in the open he was regretting not coming here immediately.</p>
<p>"Can you believe he got so angry he wanted to do it anyway?" Ho Joon was asking.</p>
<p>"That was like a child throwing a tantrum"</p>
<p>"Dude, what? It was hilarious"</p>
<p>"Frankly, I hope they suspend him. Imagine if he fell and hurt himself and we all ended up in the news as the ones who let it happen"</p>
<p>"It’s a funny memory now that it has ended well, though"</p>
<p>People around were joining the discussion and chatting. Jimin threw his own opinion in the bunch here and there, and occasionally sipped on whatever was passed around, but his main occupation was leaning on his elbows, eyes fixed on the night sky.</p>
<p>He knew a few constellations and found even less, but it didn't matter. He was simply mesmerized by it. By the universe being literally infinite and still expanding at an accelerated speed, by those incandescent balls of light pinned to the dark sky, capable of evoking so many feelings and sensations at once. Every time he turned away, he was stupidly afraid it would be the last time he was going to see them.</p>
<p>As the minutes went by, people left.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, people left, but most importantly, people who were seated around him. Some simply dozed off, some went back to the dorms, some <em>said</em> they were going to the dorms and sneaked in pairs in the opposite direction, some even fell asleep on the grass. By 3:20 AM, only Jimin and Taehyung were left and awake.</p>
<p>Taehyung was sitting a few meters away, but came to rest beside him, the palms of his hands to support his head as his eyes wandered on the night sky too. He was wearing corduroy pants, a thick white cardigan, a padded raincoat and one of his berets. He had no scarf on, and the calm night wind occasionally tickled the first, unbuttoned collar of his shirt.</p>
<p>"Are you okay? You didn’t say much" he asked.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I am. I just got distracted" and for once, it was not by the boy he was talking to. Congratulations, Jimin!</p>
<p>"Understandable. It’s magnificent, isn’t it?" the other exhaled, fixing his stare on the night sky.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it is" Jimin smirked, his eyes falling on Taehyung as he said so. Despite the darkness and the fact he knew he was surely imagining it, he thought he could see the starts reflected in his brown eyes.</p>
<p>He laid down in Tae’s position too, his neck starting to hurt from supporting his weight.</p>
<p>Now that most students had left, a calm but rich silence had taken the place of the drunken chatter. Neither of them said anything for a while either, rejoicing in the view. Jimin’s heart was so warm he could not feel the cold, not even on the tip of his toes. He didn’t want to impose, but he found himself thinking that if Taehyung had tried to kiss him now, he would definitely kiss him back. Not that he wouldn’t on any other occasion, but he simply thought how special this could be.</p>
<p>He did not have enough assurance to try first, though. What if it repulsed him? And even if it didn’t, what if it pushed him away? It was all too fragile. But would it ever not be fragile?</p>
<p>His head fell in the direction of Tae the same moment Tae turned to him.</p>
<p>"I am glad I got to know you" he said.</p>
<p>Jimin chuckled, a bit breathless: "What?"</p>
<p>"I wouldn’t have expected to meet anyone new now that high school is almost over. To make any new friends and be so content I found them, but I’m very happy that I did"</p>
<p>Maybe he simply wasn’t ready.</p>
<p>"Yeah, me too" he smiled, and then they settled in a comfortable silence as they contemplated the night sky.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was nearly dawn when Jimin woke up. Alcohol and excitement had completely left his body, and he was once again sensible to the cold. A cool wind was blowing, and as a shiver ran down his spine, the first thing he realized was that they had fallen asleep in the field.</p>
<p>The second one, was that his head was on Taehyung’s shoulder. Sometime during the night, he must have curled up against him, because he woke up on his side, the mentioned head on the shoulder and his right arm bracing the other's chest for warmth. Non-cold induced goosebumps tickled his skin at the third realization, that Taehyung’s right arm, last seen bent beneath his head, was wrapped halfway between Jimin’s shoulder and elbow.</p>
<p>Jimin tried his hardest not to move, not to wake him up, not to let a single thing change. He definitely felt the cold now, but he was happily tolerating it.</p>
<p>He lightly nuzzled his nose in the boy's collarbone. He had rejoiced in the situation just long enough to relax once again when he realized this was surely a fortuity. He was used to sleeping on his side and curling on himself. Feeling a warm body next to him, he must have leaned onto Tae and, as a natural reaction to seek warmth back, Tae’s hand must have wrapped his shoulder as the both of them were sleeping. Not much to unwrap here, no conscious moves, only the feeling to cherish and hold on to for as much as he could.</p>
<p>About that… a shutter click.</p>
<p>Jimin’s head turned as fast as it possibly could without waking Taehyung. Hoseok’s bright smile came into vision as he lowered the camera and giggled.</p>
<p>"S-O-C-U-T-E" he whisper with excitement.</p>
<p>"What the fuck?" Jimin mouthed more than whispered.</p>
<p>"I’m sorry, you were too cute an– don’t look at me like you aren’t going to print an A5 version of this to hang in your room"</p>
<p>"Somebody could see you!"</p>
<p>"Who?" Yoongi intervened with a grin beside Hobi.</p>
<p>Jimin quickly turned his head left and right, but the fairies had a point. They were the only ones left. With an emphatic roll of his eyes, their godchild kept further comments to himself.</p>
<p>How intimate it might be, it also meant it was way too late (or early, depending on the point of view), and they better go back to the lodge before the professors woke up. With a last glance to Tae’s sleeping form, he grudgingly got out of his grasp – better to avoid any misunderstanding or embarrassment – and only then, shook his shoulder gently. A side glance to the fairies was enough to have them reappear as pins on his sweater.</p>
<p>"Can you please dry our clothes? I wish for dry clothes" he whispered into the neck of his jacket. The humidity of the night had left their trousers damp and Jimin knew his bones were going to pay him back at the next practice. One second later, he felt comfort embrace him once again.</p>
<p>"Hey" he saluted as Taehyung started blinking.</p>
<p>"Hey… What time is it?" he stretched his arms, getting in a sitting position. The sky was starting to color a lighter shade of blue in the east.</p>
<p>"Time to head back to the lodge if we don’t want to risk a suspension. Or being<em> literally</em> left behind"</p>
<p>"Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun" Tae conceded as he accepted Jimin’s hand to get up.</p>
<p>With a final shake to get the sleepiness off his limbs, they started walking back to the lodge.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>When Taehyung got home on Monday night, it was already dark outside.</p>
<p>"Didn’t you say you would be home by 6:30?" was the first thing he heard as he stepped in the entrance hall to take off his shoes.</p>
<p>"Yes, but the bus broke down just outside the park and we had to wait two hours for road assistance to fix it, so we arrived at the school parking a bit later" he explained back to his mother’s voice.</p>
<p>"Well, if it is like that, then it is fine. But you didn’t answer our texts, so we have already eaten dinner" her perfectly-coiffed head came out of the kitchen door, a sorry expression creasing her eyebrows. Why hadn’t he checked his texts? How could he forget? He should have known better.</p>
<p>"It’s okay. I am a bit nauseous from the journey anyway" he patted his stomach. It wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t want heated soup either.</p>
<p>"Are you all set for the week?" she asked, drying her hands on a kitchen towel.</p>
<p>Taehyung nodded.</p>
<p>"Splendid. I made you the usual calendar with practice time and all your other engagements. You said three slots for the History project, right?"</p>
<p>Taehyung nodded again.</p>
<p>"Brilliant! – she stuffed the towel in the pocket of her apron and approached Tae to plant a quick kiss on his forehead – Goodnight, then. Don’t turn the lights off too late, you have a long day tomorrow" and she was gone.</p>
<p>Taehyung summoned all the willpower and strength he had left to carry his bags to the end of the corridor and into his room. Like the usual, his mother had tidied up everything in his absence. The bed had been made with clean covers, all the stuff on his desk had been moved around in the placements she preferred, and the floor smelled like her favorite detergent. It was nice, but also the n-th violation of anything that came close to privacy and personal space in Taehyung's house. The boy made it its first objective to jump on the bed and lay down, but he knew he needed to unpack his bag and put everything away neatly before he went to sleep, otherwise his mother would have scolded him first thing in the morning. And after the late arrival of the bus, he couldn't mess up another time so soon.</p>
<p>"You have to let me play a prank on them. Just a little thing. Just once" another voice, thankfully not his parents', reached his ears.</p>
<p>"I have already told you it is not a good idea, every single time you ask" Tae sighed.</p>
<p>"But they’re assholes"</p>
<p>"Tell me something I don’t know"</p>
<p>"They are prank-deserving assholes?"</p>
<p>"The only thing a prank is going to cause is for my mother to be even more irritable and my father even more unsympathetic. Or maybe he will just stop showing his face around for good… You know how he wants things to be like for the occasional two hours he deigns to shows his face around the house - Taehyung paused, getting on his elbows – Actually, maybe it’s not that bad of an idea to prank him"</p>
<p>"That’s not what I meant"</p>
<p>"I know what you meant – Tae interrupted him without anger – I’m just… tired. Generally speaking. And I’m very tired right now, specifically. I wish for my bags to be unpacked and everything in my room to be back where it usually is"</p>
<p>Seokjin waved his wand gracefully, and in a few seconds, books had been stashed on the shelves, dirty clothes thrown into the laundry basket in the bathroom, and electronics put away in the nightstand.</p>
<p>"Thank you"</p>
<p>"Well, that’s what I’m here for. Even if sometimes I hope for more exciting stuff, you know" Jin twirled in the air, purple glitter somehow floating around him.</p>
<p>"Exciting like your little love mission?"</p>
<p>"<em>Hey,</em> <em>stob it</em> – it was now Tae’s turn to poke the bear and Jin's to be annoyed – It isn’t little and please let’s not talk about that either, I regret ever mentioning it to you and telling you about my marvelous if not epic life in the first place" Jin’s eyes were expressive enough as he settled on the bed next to Taehyung.</p>
<p>"You know you can talk to me, though, if you want to"</p>
<p>"Yes. Thank you. I really mean it. And you can do that too…" Jin’s purple head turned in Tae’s direction, a closed-lips smile curling his lips in an adorable way.</p>
<p>Taehyung often felt like he was doing too little for Seokjin, even if he knew perfectly well that the fairy had been assigned to him to help him out, and it wasn’t the other way around. He just couldn’t’ understand how he could have been doing this over and over for millennia and how he could not grow tired of it all. He could not stop thinking about how any person would feel at having to grant kids’ childish wishes over and over again with no one caring about what they wished themselves. Yes, Jin had more-than-briefly mentioned his popularity back in Fairy Land, but since he had left the path of acting for that of god-parenting, what and who had been there to bring him joy, to care about what he wanted and wished?</p>
<p>It seemed like a long, lonely life to live.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>In fact, Jin had done a lot for Taehyung. Despite scaring him so much he thought he was going to have a heart attack – and actually fainted and nearly hit his head – when he showed up the first time, from that moment onwards his days had been the brightest he had had in a long time. Truth is, even though his public image did not show it and people could hardly guess it – Jungkook was the only one who knew all about it, fairy excluded for obvious reasons – Taehyung’s life was exhausting. It was not bad, per se, but it was exhausting. And Jin’s mere presence had taken a lot of anxiety away.</p>
<p>The major cause of it, and origin of everything, surely were his parents. Commanding, controlling, never heard of personal space but absent at the same time, if that was even possible - but apparently it was. Traditional in the bad, in the worse way. Taehyung's life was a tight schedule of things to do to be the best son ever to present in social occasions, and a collection of achievements to brag about. The boy loved what he did, he loved basketball and enjoyed many of the tasks and activities his parents had <em>warmly suggested</em> he signed up for over the course of the years. And he was grateful for their care for him to get in the best universities planet Earth had to offer, he truly was. But it was a borderline obsession. Most nights Taehyung laid in bed with an unmovable weight on his chest and spent hours before falling asleep, oppressing thoughts fighting for space in his brain. And he was tired, so tired - not merely physically tired, but mentally, and psychologically. The moment he opened his eyes in the morning, he was already tired.</p>
<p>He was tired of hiding his love for photography and music in the back of his drawers and mind, because his parents did not understand it and did not want him to waste his time. He could not waste his time. He was tired of sneaking out of his window at night, because he was allowed only one night out per week and had a tight curfew but also needed to maintain his popular status around school. He was tired of looking at pamphlets from Universities and Colleges he did not remotely care for, and having to say he would think about them. He was tired of cutting off crushes and distancing himself from relations, but what was he supposed to do? He genuinely thought his father would kick him out if he found out he was gay. He was not imaging it: his father had joked about it once, like it was nothing, like it was a fun thought, when he had had a doubt about his relation to Jungkook. Never had anything been there, romantically, between the two of them, and it <em>never</em> would, but after that joke, he had felt another ton of weight adding to his shoulders. He was tired of the way his shoulders tensed the second he stepped foot in his own house, each time he did. </p>
<p>At this point, Taehyung was marking days off the calendar until he was free of his parents’ household. He would go to university, maybe fake an acceptance letter to the one they wanted for him and actually go somewhere else just to irritate them. He would get a part-time job to maintain himself. He would live in a shared apartment with like-minded people. He would get a boyfriend and bring him back to said apartment.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>If he had the courage, maybe, he could think about doing such things already. But he was too young to try his luck. He wasn’t even an adult yet, and despite everything, he still wanted for his parents to love him. Once he had gone away though... once he could distance himself from them… that was going to be a whole another story. One day. One day it would happen.</p>
<p>Until then, there was Jin.</p>
<p>Jin with his dad jokes and his windshield laugh and his magic tricks. Jin with the soundproof rooms Taehyung could practice singing in without having his parents know. Jin with the photography advice and the incredible style tips. Jin with the century-old crush on another fairy, still believing in love at first sight and in the healing powers of time. Jin who had been with him for two months but whom he had waited for his whole life.</p>
<p>Taehyung’s thoughts came back to him.</p>
<p>"About these fairies, though..." he went on.</p>
<p>"What about them?"</p>
<p>"You have already told me I cannot ask you who they belong to. Even if I saw one of them bathing in the lake this weekend. Well, I saw a dog, but my point stands"</p>
<p>"Yes, that would be correct"</p>
<p>"Brace yourself now, because I have thought about this – he sat up on the bed - Can I ask you if a<em> specific</em> person has fairies?"</p>
<p>Taehyung had expected a straightforward answer, but Jin’s eyebrows arched, his lips turning into a pouty expression.</p>
<p>"What? You can?" he whispered with urgency.</p>
<p>Jin did not answer, but at a wave of his wand, the rule book appeared next to them on the bed and pages started to turn until they stopped on what they were looking for. Jin read out loud.</p>
<p>"A fairy godparent cannot tell their godchild what other kids have fairies; the child has to find out on their own… <em>Although the child can wish to know if a certain person has fairies!" </em>Jin’s eyebrows almost reached his hairline.</p>
<p>Taehyung was rubbing his mouth with his hand, barely believing it. It was seriously happening.</p>
<p>"Very well then. I wish to know...</p>
<p><br/>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Throwback to chapter 2:  "godparents cannot tell their godchild what other kids have fairies, you have to find out on your own, even though… mh… I’m not sure about wishing to know if a specific person has fairies… I need to read the rules again, it’s been literal ages" Hoseok scratched the back of his head... AND HOSEOK FORGOT TO READ THE RULES AGAIN! </p>
<p>For those who did not read between the asterisks, in the most general way possible: Taehyung's parents are oppressive, controlling, and very interested in bragging about his achievements but very little in caring for him. Tae suffers because of it.</p>
<p> <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think! </em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, fabulous character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter </strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm... see you soon for a ... chapter ... i don't want to spoil anything but ... phew ...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Truth Untold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The biology trip has been splendid, but it can't go on forever. Taehyung has come home to his ill-disposed human parents and well-disposed fairy godparent. School is back to the usual routine, and the deadline for the History group work is coming up. </p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/48XfojJC87VKLlUotYV0Gm?si=KSBP1zHbS92mc-L5DoEP6Q">The Truth Untold</a> by BTS.<br/> <br/>I apologize for skipping the Tuesday update, I wasn't feeling great and didn't want to post when I was in a bad mood. I hope you understand! Now we're back on track.<br/> <br/></p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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</p>
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<p>The biology test had been a walk in the park. At least by Jimin’s expectations. Over the course of the week, he had also received a mediocre yet sufficient grade in maths and a great one in physics, God only knows how he scored it. Or maybe Namjoon did, but Jimin didn’t want to give him too much satisfaction.</p>
<p>All in all, despite being emotionally drained and physically tired from the trip, which resulted in a couple of stupid mistakes during ballet class, Jimin was feeling ready to take on the world and prove what he could achieve academically when he set his mind to it.</p>
<p>Now, when he walked the school halls, he could recognize other students from the trip and engage in small talk as they walked to class. He could approach Tae’s group and be included in a casual chat by Hyung Won or whomever it was, occasionally discussing the school day with Tae. When such people asked around if anyone was up for coffee or pizza or a movie, the questions were directed to him as well – and he actually went to grab coffee with some of them, bringing Jisoo along after he bumped into her in the corridors. Taehyung was not present because he was busy with school stuff, but that was beside the point.</p>
<p>Hence, despite being emotionally drained and physically tired, he also felt sociable and carefree, and whenever he set down to review his notes, he found himself reinvigorated by this new wave of social contact. Taehyung had not left his mind nor thoughts, but Jimin felt like he was set on the right path to win his affections, and he didn’t mind waiting a bit more to understand if something could really, actually happen.</p>
<p>The only ones who were more ecstatic than him were Hoseok and Yoongi, whom Jimin believed to be more interested in the school gossip than he was. Spa day would come back on the weekly schedule, and the fairies had started sometimes surprising him with gifts before he could even ask for wishes.</p>
<p>"You deserve it, Jimin. You’re the kindest kid we’ve ever worked with"</p>
<p>"Mh, you tell that to everyone, don’t you?" he would laugh it off, but accept the n-th fantastic idea or gift the fairies had proposed to him with warmth engulfing his heart. His favorite, up to date, had been the gigantic trampoline they had materialized in the middle of one of the town parks, just for fun.</p>
<p>He was feeling so great about school and about life that the prospects of dance and his future did not worry him, at least for that week. He knew he would have to confront his parents in a few days, but unless he got an insufficient grade in the biology or maths homework he had been assigned, he had no reason to worry. And by Namjoon’s words, he did not need to worry.</p>
<p>Things were the best they had been in a long while.</p>
<p>The first two History meetings of the week had gone by smoothly in the school’s study room just after class. Jimin and Tae’s work was good, but Jungkook’s was outstanding. They had worked at the bibliography and at piecing their parts together to have a smoothly flowing essay. By the time the third meeting came up, they only had to come up with the conclusions and review it all. Even leaving it a few days to run it over in their heads and double check, they were going to be able to turn the paper in several days early – something Mr Bang appreciated a lot.</p>
<p>For the last group meeting, they had decided to meet up at the library on early Friday afternoon, and the time had come.</p>
<p>Jimin didn't feel anxious about the meeting being the last one, nor worried about going back to <em>person-whose-face-I-know</em> status with Tae. He could not predict the future, but his instincts told him not to stress about it. He was zipping up his favorite black boots (if it was the last time he would meet Taehyung in casual clothing for a while, he would go out with a bang), when his phone vibrated.</p>
<p>It was a text from Jungkook, on the History group chat. He had promised to help his brother out with homework but had forgotten about it, and didn’t want to leave him crying in despair over it. Before Jimin could answer and ask whether he should meet with Taehyung only or if it would be better to postpone to the next day, Tae had already messaged Jungkook not to worry, that they would draw up the conclusions themselves and send them to him for further review.</p>
<p>This meant several hours of alone time, and without wishing for Jungkook to catch a cold – in fact, now that they had found out he was not Seokjin’s godchild, Hoseok was more than willing to go back to the original plan. Jimin swallowed audibly. He had no real reason to worry. They knew each other fairly well now. Why were his palms starting to sweat, then? Without giving himself time to overthink it, he grabbed his black leather bag-pack and made for the library.</p>
<p>He did not forget to close the chat and put his phone away in his pockets. It would have been pretty weird and difficult to explain why Taehyung’s contact picture was Jimin looking at his sleeping form as they laid down in that field.  Anyway, it is important to point out that he had not printed the picture in A5 format to hang on the wall of his room, like his fairies had joked about, so there’s that.</p>
<p>He had printed it in big-pocket-size format to put in a frame on his desk.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The air was chilly outside, the sky covered with grey clouds that promised nothing good, but one could still sense the imminent arrival of spring, in just a few days. Scarves were still worn eagerly, but the time for wool gloves had passed.</p>
<p>As Jimin reached the library, he found Taehyung already waiting for him in front of the main entrance.</p>
<p>"Hey" he greeted him with a smile and a wave of his hand as Tae’s looked up from his phone.</p>
<p>"Oh, hi!" he put it away.</p>
<p>"Is something wrong?" Jimin eyed the library - the first one to arrive usually waited for the others in the study rooms, not outside.</p>
<p>"Oh no, it isn’t. But I was thinking that maybe we can finish up at the café on the other side of the square? For a change of scenery"</p>
<p>"Uh, sure. I’d like that" was that even a question? It almost sounded like a d... better not to get too ahead of ourselves, though.</p>
<p>Taehyung turned and started walking down the tiled sidewalk.</p>
<p>"There shouldn’t be too many people at the café anyway, I had a look from the windows before. Besides, it’s clearly going to rain soon and it won’t be pretty. People will just stay at home..." his brown eyes scanned the clouds.</p>
<p>"Well, no problem, I would bear a bit of noise and people’s screaming for Dalgona any day, so, don’t worry"</p>
<p>"Ugh, I wouldn’t – Tae faked gagging – No, wait, I mean for-"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know. You hate coffee"</p>
<p>"How do you know?" he raised an eyebrow in wonder. </p>
<p>"You spent four days drinking tea and energizing drinks no matter how little we slept, during the trip, so I figured either you love pain or you hate coffee" Jimin chuckled.</p>
<p>"Definitely the second" Tae gave a dramatic eye roll as he pushed the door to the café.</p>
<p>It was not the most popular café in town, but still one of the nicest, in Jimin’s opinion. The style wasn’t ultra-modern but it did not feel old and dusty either. As you entered, you faced a wall of exposed bricks, where a few dark wood shelves displayed literature classics free to read as long as you stayed at the coffee shop. You then turned to the left, where a few tables were scattered around, some bigger ones with wooden benches and some smaller ones with garden-style iron chairs furnished with thin, mismatched pillows.</p>
<p>The table by the window was by far Jimin’s favorite, as the bench beneath it was usually covered in puffy cushions and it had a pretty view on the outside, with the small garden and the library on the other side of the street. Walking in the other direction, descending a couple of steps, one could find the food counter with the cakes and pies the owners had baked that morning. They usually changed every couple of days, and Jimin always hoped to find his favorite, the chocolate and pears one.</p>
<p>Here and there were potted plants, and ivy cascaded from a brick column at the center of the room. The main lighting source was often dimmed to give a calm and relaxing atmosphere, but each table had a wireless desk lamp short of reach for students who came to do a bit of afternoon studying while enjoying a nice treat. There were no speakers and no playlist of music hits pestered visitors’ ears at each hour of the day, which Jimin was very grateful for.</p>
<p>Only a few other clients were seated inside that day, while a girl was leaving with her takeaway. Jimin and Taehyung settled at the table by the window, side by side with their backs to the street. The table was big enough for their notes and laptops (yes, Jimin had remembered not to set <em>that</em> picture as his wallpaper), and there was enough light coming from outside, despite the grey sky, not to need to turn on the lamps.</p>
<p>The waitress was quick to arrive. She was an older woman with kind eyes, and was mostly in charge of the baking if Jimin was not mistaken. He went to the café often, but not as often as he wished to.</p>
<p>"What can I bring you, dears?" she took a small notebook out of her apron.</p>
<p>"I’ll get a Dalgona coffee, normal size. Thank you. And a slice of chocolate and pears pie, if you still have it?" Jimin tried out his luck. Despite having tried almost half the cakes they offered and having loved each single one of them, he always went back to his absolute favorite.</p>
<p>"Yes, perfect, dear. What about you?" she glanced at Taehyung.</p>
<p>"I’ll get a green tea, thank you. And… - he eyed the counter on the other side of the room – I’m not that sure, so I’ll just get the same as him, thank you"</p>
<p>"Mh, I don’t think we have two slices left. Let me check" and the woman went to the counter, calling for someone in the kitchen.</p>
<p>"What do you mean you are not sure? You’ve never been here?" Jimin was flabbergasted.</p>
<p>"Twice? I think, yes. I have never eaten anything though"</p>
<p>"Oh my God. Oh my God. You need to try something for sure, then. Everything’s fantastic. The one I ordered is the best though. I legit dreamed about it, that time I spent all my money on a coat and could not come here for a whole month and then I came twice and they didn’t have it. Worst experience of my life" he explained excitedly and hurriedly as the woman came back.</p>
<p>"I’m sorry kids, there’s just one slice left for today" she sighed.</p>
<p>"That’s okay. I’ll have the orange and chocolate chips loaf cake then - Jimin was quick to intervene, waving Taehyung’s concerned expression away – Don’t worry, that’s exceptional as well"</p>
<p>"But you said you dreamed about it-"</p>
<p>"Really, it’s okay"</p>
<p>"I feel like I deprived you of your only source of joy now"</p>
<p>"Don’t be stupid" Jimin shook his head but he was laughing.</p>
<p>"I’ll get it only if we share it" Taehyung retorted, extending a hand to Jimin.</p>
<p>"Okay, yeah. We can split them" Jimin took it.</p>
<p>"Great"</p>
<p>"Great. Shall we get to work?" Jimin asked but had already turned to get the papers out of his bag, hoping he had done that soon enough to hide the fact he was blushing.</p>
<p>The following hour and a half passed by quickly, but Jimin had grown used to that happening when he was with Taehyung by now. They had sipped on their drinks and Jimin had taken spoonfuls of the Dalgona’s coffee cream to eat with the orange and chocolate chips loaf cake. Creativity and genius go hand in hand, after all.</p>
<p>Taehyung and him ended up sharing the slices, as solemnly promised. They didn’t split them in half but rather positioned the plates in between them and grabbed a spoonful each time they wanted to. So, naturally, in ten minutes they were almost already gone.</p>
<p>"You eat it"</p>
<p>"You eat it"</p>
<p>"I had the last bite"</p>
<p>"But I took bigger pieces each time"</p>
<p>"You eat it"</p>
<p>Jimin poked the last bit of chocolate and pears cake with his fork and waved it in front of Taehyung’s face.</p>
<p>"No" Tae mouthed, careful not to open his lips too much and give him an opening.</p>
<p>"If you don’t eat it I’m going to throw it out of the window, and you don’t want good food to go to waste, I hope?" Jimin gave him an ultimatum.</p>
<p>"Fine, mum" Taehyung opened his mouth and Jimin fed it to him, gloating with satisfaction. It took him a second to realize how intimate that gesture was, and he just hoped not to turn completely red in the face.</p>
<p>"Mh, yes. That was worth the fight" Tae munched on it.</p>
<p>"Did I forget to say whomever got the last piece of cake also gets to write the first line of the conclusions?" Jimin teased him.</p>
<p>Taehyung shot him a deathly stare, but he ended up laying down the first sentence... and second and third.</p>
<p>With the draft paper in the middle, the open books beside it, and the drinks threatening to spill over all of it at each movement they made, they scribbled and cancelled and added and cut. Eventually, they reached a satisfying 20-lines concluding statement that linked the opening with each one of their parts and remarked their findings. It took them slightly too much time considering it was a simple conclusion, but they were aiming for perfection.</p>
<p>By Jungkook’s quick review of the picture Tae snapped and sent to the group chat, it seemed they had reached it.</p>
<p>Jimin stretched his arms, a weight dropping off his shoulders. The essay had not been particularly tiring, but it had requested a lot of work and he could now consider it done. Finally. A new weight settled in, though, on his heart, despite his previous mood. He would now have way less occasions to be alone with Taehyung.</p>
<p>
  <em>Was he running out of chances?</em>
</p>
<p>They packed their bags and payed for the cakes and drinks.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why were his fingers trembling? </em>
</p>
<p>Taehyung was the second to pay, and he complimented the old woman for her recipes while Jimin waited at the entrance.</p>
<p>It had started raining. It was not a rainstorm, but it seemed pretty heavy now that he was looking at it with the consciousness he was stepping outside the café's doors in a minute. He had not even bothered bringing an umbrella with him, because he knew he could always ask Hoseok and Yoongi. Thankfully enough, the two of them had been <em>unusually</em> quiet throughout the whole meeting – wait, where were Hoseok and Yoongi?</p>
<p>Jimin looked down to his chest, but there was no sign of the familiar pins. No wands, no sunset and forest, nothing. On his bag either.</p>
<p>He whispered, trying not to catch the attention of a family sitting at a table nearby. No one answered. No one. He couldn't believe he had asked for so few wishes in the past week and the second he needed the simplest thing of all, they were gone. <em>Weren’t they supposed to be with him at all times, anyway?</em> He thought he was the one who had conceded them free time, not that they could just disappear at any moment. He did not even have a hood on his jacket or sweater.</p>
<p>"Ready to go?" Tae’s voice reached his ears and averted him from his confused thoughts.</p>
<p>"Yeah, uhm… I don’t have an umbrella though"</p>
<p>"Oh, me neither - Taehyung seemed to realize the situation as well – Wait"</p>
<p>He took his bag off his shoulder and slid out of his full-length raincoat. He crossed his bag over his chest again and draped the raincoat over his head, extending his left arm in Jimin’s direction.</p>
<p>Jimin just stared.</p>
<p>"What are you waiting for?"</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah, okay" was he supposed to get <em>under</em> the raincoat <em>with</em> Taehyung? Was that what he was supposed to do? Protect himself from the rain snuggled under Tae’s raincoat? Alright, let Hoseok and Yoongi do whatever they wanted to and be wherever they wanted to be. </p>
<p>Jimin took the collar from the boy's hand and slid below it next to him. They ended up with their sides pressed against each other in the small space the raincoat allowed for. He could feel Tae's shoulder rubbing past his as the brunette's right hand went to the doorknob.</p>
<p>"Let’s get to the bus stop and see what we can do from there" he said and pushed the door open.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The rain was coming down in heavy droplets that ticked and danced on tiles and streamed down Tae’s black raincoat. The fabric did a good job at shielding their upper bodies from the rain, but by the time they had crossed the street, Jimin’s knees were already wet through the denim of his jeans.</p>
<p>They made for the back of the library, speeding up but not to the point of running. Cutting through the back-garden sidewalk would allow them to reach the bus stop earlier. While Jimin doubted it would mean much for the state of their clothes, his arm was starting to feel a bit tired holding up the coat, so he wanted to get to shelter as fast as possible.</p>
<p>The rain started coming down more heavily, as if the clouds had a personal score to settle with the two of them. No thunder or lighting appeared, at least.</p>
<p>"Wait, wait a minute" they were walking next to the back wall of the library building when Taehyung called out and stopped next to it.</p>
<p>He laid on the wall, his hand coming down to rest at his side as the raincoat draped his head. Jimin was next to him, not daring to leave the safe and dry capacity of the coat. The gutters that ran around the library rooftop partially shielded them from the rain now that they were against the wall, but of course, it had started raining diagonally.</p>
<p>"Everything okay?" Jimin asked, turning to look at the other boy. His boots gave him a few centimeters in height, but Tae was still a bit taller than him. </p>
<p>"Yes, I just need to catch my breath. And I just realized the library bus stop is literally only a pole stuck in the sidewalk, no roof"</p>
<p>"Ah, yes. Right" he didn’t take the bus much so he couldn’t have known, but he agreed that standing in the middle of a downpour was probably not a good choice.</p>
<p>"Wait, let me check…" Taehyung got his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it with his thumb. Jimin got a glimpse of his lock-screen, a picture of Tae laughing in what he supposed to be his room, his figure bent over as a cat snugly walked on top of his shoulders, its expression regal yet happily satisfied. He supposed Jungkook had taken it. </p>
<p>"…ten minutes. The next bus for the center comes in ten minutes, and for the suburbs in twelve" could have been worse, honestly, but it made no sense to go back to the café just to have to walk all the way back to the library five minutes later.</p>
<p>"So we wait" Jimin muttered.</p>
<p>"So we wait"</p>
<p>And they waited, side by side under Tae’s raincoat and the library’s gutter. Eventually, Jimin gave up his hold on the raincoat too, letting it drape the side of his face. The rain did not look like it wanted to give up its fight.</p>
<p>He suddenly became very aware of Taehyung’s presence at his side, even though he had been there for some time now. He was looking back and forth at the street in front of them, thumping his right foot. His body was warm but seemed tense. His left hand was just a few centimeters away.</p>
<p>What would have happened if Jimin tried to sneak his palm into his?</p>
<p>He was so nervous at the thought that his fingers started trembling again, and he resolved to just slid his hand behind his back not to make the other boy notice and embarrass himself once more. It wasn't like it was the first time something like this happened, so why was he so anxious? <em>Why couldn't he just do it?</em></p>
<p>He swallowed audibly. This was becoming too hard. And why on Earth did he feel like crying now? He just wanted to go home. The raincoat felt heavy, as if it had collected all the fallen rain in its pocket and folds.</p>
<p>As he was moving his shaking hand behind his back, he felt Tae’s calloused fingers brushing past his. He held his breath but did not dare to look down. He knew he had not imagined it, and he had most certainly not moved in the other’s direction, so it must have meant that…</p>
<p>Taehyung’s hand slid into his.</p>
<p>Jimin felt his whole body go perfectly still, his breath catching in his throat, but there really was no way he was making it up, so he looked down. Taehyung’s fingers were settled between his own, but he was not holding his hand.</p>
<p>Jimin did it, closing on the warmth of his skin.</p>
<p>His eyes traced the line of Taehyung’s forearm, the curve of his elbow, the protruding of his shoulder beneath his sweater, and settled on his face, which was so much closer than Jimin expected. His lips were parted ever so slightly, but when his gaze met Jimin’s, the blonde realized he had been staring at his eyes the whole time.</p>
<p>Was he looking for a sign? Hadn’t he just provided a very clear one?</p>
<p>Jimin resolved to give him any further confirmation he needed. It was now or never. He raised his free hand to cup the boy’s cheek gently, and when Tae didn’t draw back, he pulled him in on his tiptoes for a kiss.</p>
<p>It took a couple of seconds for Taehyung to kiss him back, but when he reciprocated, Jimin had no doubt it wasn’t a mistake.</p>
<p>Tae’s free hand slid around his waist to pull him closer, the raincoat precariously draped around their heads. Jimin could feel Taehyung’s body modeled against his, taste a residue of the chocolate cake on his lips, and the moment he was able to formulate a coherent thought, it was that he had never felt so happy and light in his whole life. He traced the outline of Tae's jaw with the tip of his thumb, and it was like he had never touched anyone else before.</p>
<p>Jimin had once thought the world to be too small, too inadequate and constrained for people to<em> really</em> be happy, but he had changed his mind. The scarce square meter under that damn raincoat was all he needed.</p>
<p>He felt Taehyung squeeze ever so delicately at his hip, and he took it as a signal to stop for air before they could dive in once again.</p>
<p>He looked up at Taehyung, their foreheads almost touching. He thought he could really cry now, but from happiness. Tae had his eyes closed, a soft expression over his face, relishing in the quietness of their safe space. He looked angelic.</p>
<p><em>Well,</em> Jimin was thinking, there was no need to rejoice in the kiss and the marvelous feeling that came with it for so long, <em>they could just go at it again –</em> when Tae’s features suddenly creased, soft wrinkles appearing on his forehead.</p>
<p>He moved, perhaps a couple of centimeters away from Jimin, but the imperceptible distance was enough for a gush of cold wind to sneak in their embrace. He opened his mouth a few seconds before he spoke, and the blonde was torn between pulling him close again, telling him he didn't need to explain himself - whatever was going through his mind was okay, and waiting to hear just for how long Taehyung had waited for that moment to come true. Something else happened, though.</p>
<p>"I shouldn’t have" Tae’s eyes were closed.</p>
<p>"What?" Jimin chuckled as his fingers brushed Tae’s lower back – it was cute to see him without his usual layer of confidence, but there was no reason for Taehyung to be sorry. Couldn’t he see how much Jimin wanted this? He knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve.</p>
<p>He waited for the creases on Tae's forehead to smooth out, but they didn’t.</p>
<p>"I- I didn’t have to do that. It was…" Tae struggled, his eyes now open but distant. Was he zoning out?</p>
<p>"I don’t understand" a nervous laugh escaped Jimin’s lips.</p>
<p>"I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn't have kissed you. I am sorry" the boy turned to look at him at the last sentence, but it seemed like that single action was taking all the strength he could muster, and that he could not hold on much longer.</p>
<p>Silence fell on them, alongside the rain.</p>
<p>Taehyung took a step back, a step that did not put that much distance between them, but that was a clear enough signal. Jimin stared, waiting for something that didn't happen. Taehyung looked… <em>no, it can’t be</em>, Jimin was thinking… but it seemed like that… Taehyung looked like he was going to be physically sick.</p>
<p>He just stood like that, finally looking at him with something that surely did not look like hatred but resembled disgust too much for Jimin to come up with <em>anything</em> to say or do to avoid what was bound to happen. His perpetual tears were now threatened by a soul-shattering feeling.</p>
<p>"You are damn right you shouldn’t have" Jimin distanced himself from the other boy, the raincoat finally sliding off his shoulders.</p>
<p>He had his hands up. He meant to say something, but he didn’t know how to put it down, and he really didn't want to make a scene and humiliate himself any further. He was not so sure he could hold back the pain cutting through his chest much longer, and Taehyung just stood there, doing absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>So, Jimin turned on the heels of his boots and started walking at a fast pace down the garden. He thought he heard Taehyung calling after him once, or maybe his mind was just making it up to fit whatever fantasy it had built up in the last month. Jimin picked up his pace.</p>
<p>The rain was just as hard as before, but he didn't even notice it. He was actually grateful for it. At least no one could have spotted the tears that started rolling down his cheeks.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Jimin did not know exactly where he was going, but he was fairly sure he was moving in the direction of his house. He felt miserable. His clothes were completely soaked through and he couldn’t form a single coherent thought, but he could still feel his heart disintegrating in his chest. Maybe he would just collapse in the middle of the street and that would be it. He wanted to call for Hoseok and Yoongi, but where the fuck where they? Why had they left him alone? He tried to formulate their names and call for them, but he couldn’t make the words up without his voice cracking.</p>
<p>He stopped in his tracks, bringing a hand to his chest to ease down his breathing. He was shivering from the cold, but managed to swallow down the lump in his throat. The fairies should have come to him if he called them by name, respond to their godchild in that sense. As far as he knew, those were the rules, but they hadn’t appeared at the café. He decided to try again, not having many other options.</p>
<p>"Yoongi, Hoseok. Please come here" he enunciated as clearly as he could. </p>
<p>A few seconds passed.</p>
<p>"Oh no, Jimin, what is happening?"</p>
<p>He opened his puffy eyes to find that the rain had toned down and was now a light drizzle, and that Hoseok was looking up at him from the ground. He was disguised as the usual golden dog, Yoongi next to him in his cat form.</p>
<p>He slouched on the ground, landing on his knees.</p>
<p>"<em>Where were you? WHERE DID YOU GO?</em>" he shouted at them but reached to bring them in a hug nevertheless.</p>
<p>"We are so sorry, Jimin… we thought we would leave you some time to be alone with Taehyung without having us third and fourth-wheeling…"</p>
<p>"I called for you" Jimin sobbed.</p>
<p>"Yes, yes, we heard your umbrella wish, I'm so sorry, but we just imagined you would find a way to be with him a bit more… or… or som-something… hey, we’re here now. It’s okay" Yoongi jumped on his tights and curled against his belly. Jimin sniffed, trying to tone down his physical reactions.</p>
<p>"Do you want to go home? We can materialize you" Hobi suggested.</p>
<p>Jimin just shook his head. He didn’t want to see his parents, and he surely did not want to see the picture on his desk.</p>
<p>"You’ll catch the flu if you stay here, honey - Yoongi sneaked out of his arms – Here, let’s get inside"</p>
<p>Jimin felt his body standing up and his legs walking even though it was not his doing. Looking in front of him, he saw Yoongi had magically opened the garden fence of the closest house. Jimin stepped in, followed by Hoseok, and collapsed back to the ground the second they reached a roofed porch on the side of the house.</p>
<p>The fairies materialized a wool blanket and wrapped it around Jimin’s shoulders, but that was all they could do before a voice Jimin knew too well came out of nowhere and almost had him jump on his feet.</p>
<p>"Hey! You! Wait… Jimin? What are you doing here?" it was Namjoon.</p>
<p>With all the houses in the neighborhood, of course he had to end up at Namjoon’s. The boy could have lived anywhere in town, but it just had to be a few blocks from him, in the garden he had thrown himself into to escape the rain and cry his broken heart out.</p>
<p>Namjoon’s eyes moved from Jimin, sitting crumpled against the wall, to Hoseok at his feet and Yoongi to his side. And again. It was not going to be easy to explain.</p>
<p>"Is everything okay?" he kneeled down.</p>
<p>"I’m sorry – Jimin used the hand that wasn't holding the blanket to push against the wall and right himself – I am very sorry. I didn’t know you lived here. Please forget this ever happened" could he ask the fairies for amnesia-related wishes? He hoped he could, because this was a whole new level of humiliation.</p>
<p>Namjoon caught him by the wrist as he stood up.</p>
<p>"You haven’t answered my question" he said calmly, but his eyes were worried.</p>
<p>"No, it’s not okay, but I guess I wouldn’t be a crying, drenched mess on the floor of your porch had it been otherwise" Jimin was thankful Namjoon had not kicked him out yet, but trusting and liking him was another thing.</p>
<p>"Alright, alright. You can go – Namjoon let his wrist fall – But you can also come inside and drink something warm, unless you have somewhere to be. My parents are not home. I won’t ask or judge, but I’m not sure you should be roaming around the streets right now"</p>
<p>Jimin considered his options, casting a glance to the fence and the empty street and feeling Namjoon’s presence next to him. He had a deja-vu, like he had been there before, but could not remember when or why. He also felt, rather than thought, a pull from his body to accept Kim’s offer.</p>
<p>"Alright" he conceded.</p>
<p>"Alright… this way" Namjoon casted a last glance to the pets and made for the glass door that connected the back of the house to the garden.</p>
<p>Jimin considered asking if it was okay if his pets came with him, but maybe it was implicit. He also did not want to ask about it. He doubted it would last for long, but he felt like ignoring Yoongi and Hoseok right now, for how irrational it seemed.</p>
<p>With the whool blanket still trailing behind him, he stepped into Namjoon’s kitchen.</p>
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  <em>"Hey! You! Wait… Jimin? What are you doing here?"</em>
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<p>art by <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/unravelmuffin/status/1377750724512256003">@unravelmuffin</a> on twitter</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know I gave you both a lot to be happy about and a lot to cry about…. and I'm sorry for that. But I need to be realistic - peep the "Light Angst" tag. And we're getting somewhere, trust me.</p>
<p>The café is partly inspired to a <a href="https://zaragozaguia.com/cafe-botanico-pasaje-ciclon-rincon-donde-perderse/">café</a> I went to thrice in Zaragoza, Spain. There are no shelves with classics nor cushioned seats by the window, but it is so nice and warm and the cakes are so good it immediately came to my mind when I was describing a café.</p>
<p>About Namjoon: I am very excited about the next chapter. You've all noticed how I keep bringing him up, and he is my ultimate so, well, I won't just leave him hanging there. You know that he is our Vicky, but as I said, it is not impossible for his role to change throughout the fan fiction...</p>
<p>  <em>Kudos, hits and comments keep an author alive... please let me know here or on my curiouscat (<a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a>) what you think! </em></p>
<p><strong> I have posted edits, fabulous character moodboards and excerpts on my twitter </strong> and will keep doing so for each chapter, so be sure to follow me there not to miss anything! (<a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>) </p>
<p>tysm... see you on tuesday for the longest chapter of this fic!</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. With A Little Help From My Friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jimin and Taehyung met to finish up the History project - cute and fluffy moments followed - and ended up kissing under the rain... until Tae pushed Jimin away. The latter, miserable and soaked from head to toe, has somehow ended up in Namjoon's back garden. Let's see if Jimin can get by with a little help from his... friends?</p><p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2RnPATK99oGOZygnD2GTO6?si=WuMC2NoJS-O67JRq3QO5OA">With A Little Help From My Friends</a> by The Beatles.<br/></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings: content warning for use of recreational drugs; trigger warning for mentions of biphobic and homophobic behavior, no physical abuse is involved - paragraphs are enclosed by asterisks.<br/></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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<hr/><p> </p><p>"Here, warm up" Namjoon slid a mug of hot tea to Jimin across the kitchen counter.</p><p>He had offered him to change in one of his tracksuits, but Jimin had refused – <em>let’s not get too friendly, now.</em> Still, he had crawled out of his damp coat and sweater and held the fuzzy blanket more tightly around him.</p><p>He took the mug tentatively, his fingers wrapping around it. It was a nice, simple English breakfast with a splash of milk in it. Namjoon poured himself the same and squeezed some lemon into it. He then reached for the cupboard and took a pack of cookies from the second shelf, positioning it in the middle of the counter. Jimin, however, was still feeling nauseous.</p><p>"So… I never knew people took their cats out for walks" Namjoon cast a side-eye to Yoongi, who had jumped on the counter.</p><p>"Yeah, well… he kinda does what he wants. You know, leaves the moment you look for him and comes back when you least expect him too" Jimin needed to take the frustration out of him and the fairies deserved a few snarky comments, at least. </p><p>"Oh, he’s a boy? What’s his name?" the cat had scurried close to Namjoon, and was now purring into the crook of his palm as the boy scratched his ears. Jimin remembered that Yoongi had always seemed fond of him.</p><p>"Yo... - he stopped himself, a sudden idea lighting up to his mind - Suga. <em>Or Sugar, if you will.</em> I think he likes you" Jimin bit his lip not to laugh, but Yoongi seemed to be enjoying the tickles so much he didn't even cast him an annoyed glance.</p><p>"He has magnificent eyes" the older boy looked at Jimin, his mouth curved tightly in a dimpled smile. It was clear he was enjoying the cat’s attentions just as much.</p><p>In the meanwhile, Hoseok was settled cozily at Jimin’s feet, his tail brushing against his legs. It was clear as day he was trying to comfort him, but again, Jimin was set on holding his grudge for a bit longer.</p><p>"Do you have any pets?"</p><p>"No, but I wish I did. Maybe when I leave for university I will get one. A dog. Or maybe later, we’ll see" Namjoon shrugged.</p><p>A few seconds passed.</p><p>"You already know what you want to do?" Jimin asked behind his mug, more to avoid the conversation going back to him than for genuine interest.</p><p>"Yeah, I actually got in through an early session – I’m going to study music engineering" he answered.</p><p>"Oh"</p><p>Well, that was not what Jimin expected. Engineering? Maybe. Music engineering? Not so much. Now he was intrigued.</p><p>"You like music?" a stupid question, but he needed to know.</p><p>"Yeah, I… I do. A discussion for another time, though - Namjoon changed the topic as well - I don’t want to pry, but Jimin, is there anything I can do for you?" the older boy was clearly trying to read the emotions painted on his face.</p><p>"I…"  Jimin evaded his stare, trying to look for a new way to evade the topic.</p><p>That’s when he saw it. He had never tried one himself, but he knew his way around the instruments of the trade well enough.</p><p>Some of Namjoon’s stuff was scattered around the table, and had been pushed to the side to make space for tea and biscuits. Among them, a philosophy book, a headphone set, reading glasses, a flat pencil case, and a grinder.</p><p>Jimin reached for the latter and took it in his palm. It was cool to the touch.</p><p>It suddenly came to him why Namjoon’s house had seemed so familiar: it was him he had seen when he had ran out of his house in despair, and almost asked a complete stranger for a drag of whatever they were smoking.</p><p>"Yeah, maybe you can" Jimin spinned he grinder between his index and thumb and sent an eloquent glance in Namjoon’s direction. The boy had been watching him in bemusement.</p><p>"Have you ever even had one?" Namjoon asked, and for one time he almost seemed like a cooler older brother teasing his inexperience, rather than an annoying know-it-all.</p><p>And that was how they ended up smoking weed on Namjoon’s back porch.</p><p>Jimin had been reluctant to share at first, but Namjoon had refused to roll up a whole joint for him.</p><p>"I don’t want to be accountable for giving your parents a heart attack when you get home" he had said, and finished licking the paper and rolling it up. He had put on an oversized olive raincoat.</p><p>"C’mon, get outside before I change my mind"</p><p>Now they were sitting side by side, leaning on the white tiles of Namjoon’s house, looking at the green edges in front of them and the roof of the next house on the street. The rain had turned to drizzle and was dancing on the shingles of the rooftop. It was dusk, the sky coloring up with a shade of purple where the sun was almost set, but it was very difficult to pick it apart from the grey that covered the rest of the firmament. It was mostly relaxing, only slightly depressing.</p><p>The first drag left Jimin’s throat burning and scraped as he coughed violently into his hand.</p><p>"What the fuck?"</p><p>"You are supposed to let the smoke out through your nose, not to swallow it. You're not drinking it. Also, don’t keep it in your mouth that long. You don’t need to" Namjoon inhaled smoothly, his lids closing as he exhaled.</p><p>They just sat there for a while, each contemplating their own personal issues, or maybe just pondering what they could say next. At the third drag, Jimin had become familiar enough with it.</p><p>"You know, I saw you smoking here once. I almost came to ask you for some, ‘cause I was so angry and annoyed at my parents - <em>maybe he was oversharing, </em>he suddenly thought – and yeah, that’s it. I didn’t know you lived here"</p><p>"So, this is what it is about? Your parents?" Namjoon took his time to ask, examining his face before posing the question.</p><p>Jimin shook his head: "No, but you couldn’t understand"</p><p>"Why don’t you try me? I may surprise you" the older boy let out with simplicity, still staring at the sky ahead and above them.</p><p>"Well, unless you’ve ever waited for a year to finally be with someone and then the second you kiss them, and at first it looks fine, it looks fucking great, they push you back like your mere physical presence will make them throw up, then I don’t think you could understand" Jimin took a long drag of the joint, feeling it burn the back of his throat again but at least he would have an excuse for tears.</p><p>"Yeah, it may sound surprising but I actually know a bit about that"</p><p>"You do?" Jimin asked in bewilderment as Yoongi decided to curl in a ball of fur on his lap.</p><p>He avoided looking him in the eyes, not really in the mood for getting scolded by a cat. Hoseok was sitting at the edge of the porch, but came to lie beside Jimin as well, his head resting on his paws.</p><p>"Well, yes… I don’t know if you see me as some kind of emotionless robot just because I am good at physics and school stuff, but you shouldn’t be so quick to judge a person" Namjoon smiled, as if he knew something the other clearly didn't.</p><p>"Then<em> why</em> do you teach it like an emotionless robot?"</p><p>"For God’s sake, Jimin, I would like to see you in my shoes – Namjoon rolled his eyes but he was laughing – You’re one of the hardest I’ve ever tutored. Well, you were. You are doing much better now but please <em>please </em>keep it up because I'll go crazy if we go back to two months ago" his tone was light but he bit his lip as if he had said too much. He did not mean to upset him further, after all.</p><p>Jimin passed the joint back to him. It had now grown so short it would soon burn their fingertips. They settled in a comfortable silence, looking at the rain that had picked up its pace once again.</p><p>Whether it was comfortable because they were trying to forget their misgivings about the other, or just because of the weed, it would have been hard to tell. Jimin knew Namjoon hadn’t rolled up a particularly strong one, but he still felt proud that his head wasn’t spinning. He hadn’t tried standing up, though.</p><p>It was Namjoon who spoke first, once Jimin thought that maybe they weren’t going to share anything else that later afternoon.</p><p>
  <strong>*</strong>
</p><p>"I used to have a girlfriend, two years ago. I had liked her since the first moment I had seen her, in English class. It’s weird to explain, it’s just one of those times you see someone and you’re like – wow, I wonder what it would be like to be a part of this person’s life" he took a pause, weighting something in his head, then continued.</p><p>"She wasn’t particularly popular nor unpopular, she was just… a normal person. I guess. Maybe I was more popular than her, but I was afraid to ask her out because I didn’t want to mess it up once we became friends, from sharing notes to having lunch together and all that. But I did it anyway. I actually did it pretty quickly after I realized how strong our friendship was becoming because I didn’t want to get stuck in that role, and also, I didn’t want to lie to her face about how I felt. So, well, I told her, and she said she had been crushing on me for a while too. It was... one of the happiest moments of my life, in fact. I still treasure the memory of that day" Namjoon took a last drag out of the joint and put it out on the tiled floor.</p><p>"There is much good I could tell about her. She wasn’t a bad person. I still like to think she isn’t, but, well, the more I think about it, the more I find it hard to believe. We were together for a whole year, and we were happy, but short after our anniversary we broke up. Or, she broke up with me" Namjoon paused and swallowed a lump down his throat.</p><p>"It was around that time that I started having doubts about my sexuality. It was not that I didn’t like her anymore – I liked her a lot. But stuff happened with a boy from the part-time job I used to have. I didn’t cheat on her, I want to make this clear, because apparently people always go there with their minds. This boy was clearly flirting with me, and I realized that instead of being weirded out by it, I was flattered. It was not just harmless compliments, and maybe I should have stopped him, but I was feeling something I had never felt before and I didn’t know what to do. So, a month went by. I started questioning myself and I tried to look back at some stuff that had happened through my teenage years differently. The point is, I was dead sure I liked girls, and I was so confused about what was going on. <em>I still liked her too, so how could I be gay?</em> It didn’t come to my mind, at least not at first, that there was another option, that it wasn’t just black or white. I was scared because all the other people I knew had come to terms with their sexuality much earlier on, even if not all of them were out, so, I think I knew what was going on, deep down, but I felt like a fraud and could not really embrace it. So, what did I do? <em>What could I do?</em> I talked to the person I trusted most – I talked to my best friend, my girlfriend, about it" Namjoon stopped for a second, his right hand rubbing his chest.</p><p>"Well, she didn’t take it well. First, she thought I had cheated on her. Second, she thought I had never loved her or was playing some sick game with her, but what on earth could the motive be? She implied that I knew very well about my feelings and just used her for some kind of end I can’t even comprehend now. In her mind, the options were that either I was straight and an asshole who was trying to dump her on some weird excuse, or gay and an asshole who had used her for company and blowjobs while I waited for an interesting man to come my way. She actually said that, whatever it was, I must have had it in mind since the first moment. But I swear – Namjoon tried to find the words, the memory clearly painful, but Jimin did not feel it was his place to interrupt – All I did was trying to explain to her my feelings about how I thought I could be bisexual; even if I didn’t use the word at the time, but sure do now. And I did it because I loved her and I was scared and I wanted her to reassure me and help me. And love me. Just that. Instead, it ended up with her screaming at me and accusing me and putting blame on me, blame that never had reason to exist in the first place. Not to mention invalidating every single feeling I ever had" Namjoon reclined his head back, laying against the wall.</p><p>"So, there’s that. I think I understand what you mean" he breathed out.</p><p>"Wait – are you doing okay now?" Jimin’s hand found the crook of Namjoon’s elbow. He smiled shyly, tilting his head down.</p><p>"It wasn’t easy. It probably took longer to accept me for who I am than it should have, but I’m fine now. For real. My parents were more supportive than I thought they would be, and my sister was wonderful. I wouldn’t let people treat me poorly because of my identity now, but they definitely helped me accept myself when I was at my lowest"</p><p>
  <strong>*</strong>
</p><p>"And through all that you kept tutoring fucked-up students like me and you even got accepted early into university? <em>That’s some king shit</em>" Jimin laughed, squeezing his elbow.</p><p>Namjoon’s story was his own to tell and feel, but now that he knew the boy was doing just fine in the present, all he could do was try to cheer him up from those unpleasant memories. Or maybe he owned him something more than that.</p><p>"I apologize for having ever thought ill of you"</p><p>Namjoon snorted.</p><p>"And I apologize for having called you an insufferable brat"</p><p>Jimin’s jaw slacked to the ground: "You didn’t"</p><p>"Oh, I sure did.<em> More than once. With different people</em>. My parents were also very supportive of that"</p><p>"Well, fine, maybe I deserved it"</p><p>"Maybe not" Namjoon shrugged. Jimin’s lips tightened in a smile. </p><p>"…would it be too soon to ask for another round?"</p><p>"Just because I have now gained the status of human person with feelings, it doesn’t mean you can take advantage of me that easy" Namjoon half-laughed, half-snapped in his direction.</p><p>"Fair enough" Jimin conceded, and he nestled in his blanket to watch the rain fall for some other minutes.</p><p>When the sky finally cleared up, it was dinner time.</p><p>Jimin thanked Namjoon for… for, well, for the company and the help, and promised to get home safely and be prepared for their next tutoring class. He even felt somehow content and at peace on the way home, until he started reflecting on Namjoon’s story and remembered why he had ended up at his’ in the first place.</p><p>Then he was crying again.</p><p>---</p><p>As estimated, Jimin couldn’t stay mad at Hoseok and Yoongi much longer, and was hugging them tightly the second he stepped into his room. It was not their fault, after all. They were just trying to be nice and thoughtful and he was acting like a kid even if he would turn 18 in a few months.</p><p>Besides, everything would have gone fantastically well, were it not for Taehyung’s reactions, which the fairies couldn’t have foreseen.</p><p>Jimin did not even think about the possibility of passing by Tae in the corridor and having to deal with his existence until the morning after, but it was Saturday, so he had a bit of time to prepare himself for that. He made the conscious decision not to let his mind wander in T-related territory, at least not while it could hurt so much.</p><p>To cheer him up was the last grade he was waiting for, physics homework, one that had him smiling from ear to ear. It was done. He was not going to have to renounce dance for school, at least for that semester. The relief that brought him was so unexpected and immense that he felt his whole body ten times lighter and his shoulders relax from a tension he had not noticed he had been holding in.</p><p>A little spark started shining in the back of his mind. Jimin did not tell it to anyone, he did not speak about it with his parents nor his godparents, but having almost lost dance, his safety valve and biggest love, and then having gained it back, made something stir inside of him, as a stronger light started flicking and whispering him to dare,<em> to insist.</em></p><p>Celebrations were called for, but first, he had his Saturday morning session with Namjoon. He would not interrupt them now that they were paying off, as long as the other boy was willing to help him.</p><p>Jimin waited for him by the door, momentarily worried that there would be some kind of embarrassment between the two of them after what had happened the day before. However, Namjoon greeted him with a smile and made for the living room table as if nothing had happened – and for a moment, Jimin got worried he had hallucinated all of it. But well, he did not act as if nothing at all had changed, because his tone had become smoother around the edges, his eyes kinder, and Jimin was finding it ten times easier to ask questions and indicate what he didn’t understand.</p><p>When the full hour had passed, he felt like it had been the most productive tutoring session the two of them had ever sat through.</p><p>Jimin’s parents asked Namjoon for feedback on his progress – of course they would, since a month had passed from the dance ultimatum – and Namjoon provided it from the living room, in Jimin's presence. His mom looked like she had seen a miracle happening in front of her eyes, and his father smiled at him with a mix of disbelief and pride. A bit of skepticism too, Jimin thought, but he would not worry about that.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, his maths teacher did not bother to inform his parents of Jimin’s success in the last assignments. The good grades was not worth a call.</p><p>The Parks actually went out to get ice cream from one of their favorite places, and the usual silence they settled in after their first bites of food was quite comfortable, punctuated by harmless small talk. After that, Jimin spent the whole afternoon in his room.</p><p>Firstly, he asked the fairies to turn it into the usual dance practice hall. He warmed up and stretched with Hoseok, while Yoongi sat by the mirror and changed the music. Secondly, the three of them enjoyed the usual Saturday spa time. Hoseok’s favorite was the water massage, Yoongi’s the salt room to cleanse your lungs and meditate, and Jimin’s the essential oils warm bath, usually accompanied by a hands and face mask. He found it too weird to receive a massage by invisible, fairy-summoned hands, so when they were satisfied with their baths and meditation, it was time for their collective favorite, the sauna, Turkish bath and cooling pools triplet.</p><p>"Oh how I wish all of our kids would dream of thermal baths" Yoongi sighed in bliss behind his hydrating mask and cucumber eye patches when they reached the last round of the day, the hydromassage.</p><p>"A bit hard to find on the wish-list of an 8-year old, though" whispered Hobi.</p><p>"Do you think we can ask for no more 8-years old? Pretty please"</p><p>"And deal with pubescent teenagers who hardly wash themselves? I don’t think Jimin is a good representation of the average"</p><p>"While I am very flattered, do you really talk of cute kids like that? Didn't you voluntarily devote your lives to this or something?" Jimin intervened.</p><p>"Yes, of course we love them, and of course we could look for other things to do in Fairy Land, but this doesn't mean we are always in the mood for inflatable castles and three-meters tall chocolate cakes or cries about how such cake was <em>"not chocolate-y enough"</em> - Yoongi paused for a second - And that is okay, no one is. In the end, we love the kids, and we just want them to be truly happy"</p><p>"True. The fact we acknowledge their flaws and resent their tantrums doesn't mean we want to do this any less, or that we love them any less - Hoseok shrugged, and cast a smirk in Jimin's direction as he continued - Someday you'll get it"</p><p>Jimin gawked at him, then let it slide. He stretched his arms and jumped on the edge of the pool.</p><p>"I’ll finish up with a cool shower in the bathroom and head down for dinner. Feel free to keep the party going"</p><p>"Will do" Hobi materialized a brightly-colored cocktail in his hand. Yoongi would have scolded him for drinking in front of Jimin, but well, he couldn’t see from behind the cucumbers.</p><p>"What’s that slurping noise?"</p><p>"Uh, nothing" and with a second puff the margarita was gone.</p><p>"Mh… what are you doing?" Yoongi lifted a cucumber slice.</p><p>"Nothing, I was just thinking… - Hoseok crawled in his direction – Of how much I love you" he materialized a pillow floatie and rested his arms on it, leaning with his head in the middle.</p><p>"Are you trying to distract me, Hob-ah?"</p><p>"Maybe. Is it working?"</p><p>"Yes" Yoongi pronounced in the same serious tone, his fingers finding the back of Hobi’s hair and scratching his head lightly.</p><p>"I was also thinking about how much has happened since we were assigned to Jimin. I mean, barely anything happens for every two years with stay with a kid and here we are, five, maybe six weeks into godparenting him and we have witnessed the rise and temporary stumble of an epic romance, the blooming of a beautiful friendship and the fight for this kid’s passion and future… I am out of breath"</p><p>"True. And also something else" Yoongi kept on stroking Hoseok’s neck.</p><p>"Mh?"</p><p>"Something about us" he snapped his fingers and the face mask and cucumber slices disappeared. He looked down with loving eyes.</p><p>"You know we do not need to talk about that. We have resolved it and I don’t hold anything against you. I don’t feel like it, and even if I did have some resentment, I couldn’t stay mad at you"</p><p>"It is still not something to overlook. But I wanted to mention it because I have thought about another aspect of this whole story"</p><p>"What aspect?" Hoseok lifted his head from the floatie and sat next to Yoongi, holding on to his hand so he wouldn’t stop his little massage.</p><p>"Many of them. I have a theory"</p><p>---</p><p>In the end, Monday morning came up despite Jimin's best efforts.</p><p>He crossed paths with Jungkook in front of school. The boy was the one who had to do the final review of the History project and turn the paper in, so he was grateful to bump into him in person. Jimin wanted to check that everything was fine and settled, and he now had an opportunity to do it without having to look at Taehyung’s face (or even his name on the group chat).</p><p>"Hey. Didn’t know you had a motorbike" he approached him as the younger boy dismounted and took off his helmet – he wouldn’t have recognized him hadn’t Jungkook called after him.</p><p>"Yeah, I actually got my license last week. I love this one, but it’s not very powerful. I have to wait to be 18 to drive the one I want, so it will do for now" he took his bag-pack out of the seat compartment and held his helmet with his free hand.</p><p>"Cool" Jimin smiled.</p><p>They went to the front entrance together, discussing the essay, Jungkook walking mindlessly and Jimin praying they wouldn’t see Taehyung.</p><p>"All things considered, I think we can turn it in. I can meet Mr Bang during the break and do it myself. It may still be a little rough around the edges, but that depends on personal preferences and I think our writing is coherent"</p><p>"Great. Thanks, Jungkook. And I hope your brother didn’t put you through hell with the homework on Friday"</p><p>"Oh no, not at all. You and Tae did a great job together, so thanks to you – he smiled – Should we go looking for him? He hasn’t answered any of my texts nor picked up my calls all weekend, he’s acting weird"</p><p>"I’m sure he’s just fine, but don’t be afraid to ask him what’s wrong if your instincts tell you something’s up, you never know – Jimin hoped the sarcasm in his voice wasn’t too evident – I need to meet up with Miss Lee before class though, I’ll see you around"</p><p>So, he patted the other on the shoulder and lied his way out of the situation before a certain someone could appear (or just be mentioned another time).</p><p>This scene repeated itself for the next few days, Jimin avoiding any occasion of contact with Taehyung now that Jungkook was<em> proactively</em> asking him if he wanted to meet up with the two of them to chat or have pizza or coffee. Who would have ever thought the tables would turn this way? It seemed surreal.</p><p>The boy eventually understood that Jimin was busy and full of stuff to do at any hour of any day, or maybe he smelled something shady was up and let it go, because he stopped asking, and before Jimin knew it a week had passed, then ten days, then twelve.</p><p>Of course, Jimin's efforts and excuses didn’t always pay off, and he occasionally found himself in the same room as Taehyung, were it a corridor or the history classroom. One time they <em>even</em> made eye contact, but that was only because Jimin hadn’t noticed Taehyung walking by and casually placed his gaze on the boy, whom, Jimin could tell, had been staring at him. He had.</p><p>If he wanted to say something, if he had really called after him that Friday, then why didn’t he <em>do</em> anything? Why didn’t he try to fix it? Not that Jimin wanted him to fix what had never been there in the first place or hear some pathetic excuse, but then, he thought after catching him in the act for a second time,<em> could he at least stop staring?</em></p><p>On the bright side, Jimin continued to avail himself of his magical helpers to cheer him up, and he also had many occasions to casually hang out with people he had met at the biology trip. Even though all such friendship were at the first stages and he wasn’t so sure about how they would play out, he felt like he had no reason to worry about them.</p><p>Mentioning tables that had turned, he also started hanging around Namjoon for non-school related purposes. Yes, you read that right.</p><p>Not that he knew his friends or felt the need to, but as they had lunch together one day, walked home together the other, and turned a boring rainy afternoon in a video-game marathon, he felt like there was something nice blooming between them. Not in the romantic sense, God forbid, even though he could now see and admit that Joon was handsome and had a certain sense of security and thoughtfulness that made people naturally well-disposed towards him. Considering the piercing dragon eyes and the stature (his name meant "tree" for a reason), one day he would surely be boyfriend-material for someone, and Jimin hoped that his friend would find that someone soon.</p><p>Yes, <em>friend,</em> he had actually started thinking about him in such terms.</p><p>He had thought about Namjoon as his friend even before the boy offered him the opportunity of a lifetime. And that only happened because during a break from the above-mentioned gaming marathon, Jimin had opened up to him about his <em>what-I-really-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up</em> situation.</p><p>"Hey" Joon approached him in the hallway.</p><p>"Hey? Good morning" Jimin closed his locker.</p><p>"I have something for you – an offer that you won’t be able to refuse, or at least I hope so"</p><p>"Consider me intrigued" he leaned against it.</p><p>"Remember when I told you about how my sister is not home because she’s studying Philosophy in Canada?"</p><p>Jimin nodded: what was he getting to?</p><p>"She’s best friends with a girl from her course and her twin sister, they’re locals and her sister dances for the Canadian Contemporary Ballet Company"</p><p>"Okay… so... what about me?" Jimin tested the waters, uncertain.</p><p>Namjoon started fumbling with his hands, his eyes moving in every direction in an attempt to remember what he was supposed to say.</p><p>"One of the kids who got in for a summer trial slash training period slash internship… I can’t remember the right name because I am not an expert, sorry – anyway, what was I saying? Yes, one of those kids got injured and is now back at college with a formal withdrawal from their spot, but the Company knows there’s many talented dancers who aim for the summer school – oh, that's how it is called! Summer School! - so, they decided to hold auditions again, yes, even though they usually have them in the fall and it is kind-of last minute, so only for people who are already prepared and ready to go. Because of that, they haven’t really publicized it a lot, it’s mainly word of mouth from people who already in and know other people, so, well, where was I at? I'm sorry, I talk way too fast-"</p><p>"Yeah, I know?!"</p><p>"Well, my point is: deadline to sign up for the audition and send the material is in a month. I know you still have one year of high school but it could be a great opportunity, I'm sure it would look great on your references, and my sister’s friend could write you a reference so you’re not at a disadv-"</p><p>Namjoon’s rambling was interrupted by Jimin latching onto his neck.</p><p>"Thank you" he breathed.</p><p>"Woah, you said you’re not even sure this is what you want to do?" he patted Jimin’s back awkwardly.</p><p>"Yes but… it’s a lot. And it’s the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time" Jimin let Namjoon’s tall form go, settling back on his feet. He felt a sharp pinch to his chest, where Hoseok and Yoongi were pinned.</p><p>"I meant the nicest thing <em>a human person</em> has done for me in a long time" he corrected himself.</p><p>"Yeah… isn’t that what you just said? – Joon’s eyebrows creased – Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon for biology. Don’t forget to do the homework beforehand or I’ll scold you" and with a reassuring pat on Jimin’s shoulder, he went back the way he came from, as casually as he had just told him he had finally learnt how to play Overwatch.</p><p>On the dark side, though, Jimin threw himself into work with the clear intention of burying his feelings and thoughts.</p><p>Hoseok and Yoongi repeated him time after time it was not the right way to approach neither the work nor the other <em>unmentionable</em> thing, but Jimin didn’t really listen. While one of his dreams was crumbling, the other one finally seemed closer, and he had every intention of turning in week after week of outstanding scholastic results before he dared ask his parents what he wanted to ask more with every day that passed.</p><p>Jimin worked extra-hard at dancing classes too, of course, and at extracurricular home sessions with the magical studio. He did not have a free moment in all those thirteen days, if we concede him the occasional hour at Namjoon’s, but he didn’t want to stop and think, so, it was fine. It was great.</p><p>The only brief pauses he took, he was forced to take and were godparents-induced, either from dog-Hoseok barking until his parents commanded him to take him out for a walk, or Yoongi obliging him to watch trash TV programs together. It was fun, though.</p><p>His parents were full-on back to small talk and random conversations, and they weren't even upset by Jimin suggesting he dropped one of his scientific subjects during last year - to focus on a more advanced study of the ones he did better at, of course. It wouldn’t matter for his post-school life anyway, if things went as he wanted them to go, but at least he could avoid himself some suffering.</p><p>The excellent grade he received in the History essay surely helped him out, and his parents accepted his request. However, Jimin wished the Professor had avoided a note on just how well and in sync the three of them had worked together as a group.</p><p>---</p><p>On the thirteenth day after the first lie to avoid Taehyung, Jimin brushed his teeth as usual, washed the late study hours out of his face as usual, and tied his uniform tie smoothly as usual.</p><p>The sun was shining and tepid as he got out of his house to walk to school, Yoongi and Hoseok trotting by his side.</p><p>The day went on quite normally, with a packed lunch eaten in the garden, in the shade of a big tree. Afternoon classes were routinely normal as well.</p><p>However, as Jimin walked out of the school building, he casted a glance at the announcement board.</p><p>All posters and leaflets had been peeled off, and three of the same pastel-green and notebook-white flyers had been attached across it. They had black lettering and doodles of flowers along the border. Jimin took a closer look.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than to showcase our blossoming talents? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The next talent show will be held on the 10<sup>th</sup> of April in the Assembly Hall at 8 PM. Come show your passion, make your school proud, and stand a chance of winning rich prizes!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>- “Spring blossoming” committee</em>
</p><p>
  <em>…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please write your name and what skill you would like to showcase at the talent show (one person per line). Participants are allowed a maximum of 5 minutes each. If the slots are all taken up, come pay the organizing committee a visit in room 327 to persuade us of why we should let you join, or sorry folks, you’ll have to wait for the next one! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank you for keeping one of our school’s longest-standing traditions alive!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>The pages at the left and right where already filled up, scribbled, cancelled and written over with names and respective arts and crafts. The committee was not wrong – the biannual talent shows were an event everyone looked forward to. Their winners were treated like the cheerleading captain or the quarterback. </p><p>Surprisingly enough, part of the center sheet was still clean.</p><p>Jimin felt a sudden spike of confidence, and decided he could actually sign up. He had worked extra hard at the dancing school and he immediately thought that he could ask Namjoon to take a video of him to use as part of his audition material for the Canadian Contemporary Ballet Company – not that he had 100% made his mind up about that, nor asked for permission to his parents, but it could be a good way to showcase how good he was in front of a public, <em>and had he won,</em> he could write about that too.</p><p>Maybe he could even invite his parents to see him, as a bit of time had passed since his last performance, to surprise them with his improvement and let them see just how much he wanted it. He would perform the most grandiose piece he could think of. He would.</p><p>Completely reassured in his decision, he wrote his name in cursive on the first available line, adding<em> “dancing”</em> next to it.</p><p>And damn his eyes for moving over the pages as he put his pen away, but there he was.</p><p>Jimin thought he had a nightmare of a deja-vu to the time he had stood there and signed up for the biology trip, that had turned out to be one of the best and the worst decisions he had ever taken.</p><p>Second page, fourth line, Kim Taehyung…<em> singing?</em></p><p>What the hell?</p><p>Jimin scoffed and put his pen away.</p><p>The universe was clearly sending him signs, since it was April’s Fools Day.</p><p><br/>
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</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, yeah… an emotional rollercoaster! How do you like Joon? I couldn’t leave him stuck in the role of Vicky, I had to make him into AJ or Chester, you decide which one. OC, it was planned from the start as everything else <em>(does anyone remember when I mentioned the talent show before…?) </em></p><p><strong> VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!! </strong> If you are reading the fic and would like to be included in a small thing I am doing for the next chapter, please tell me your name - you don't need to leave a comment, you can send me an anonymous question on curiouscat or through twitter DMs. </p><p>If you did not read between the asterisks, in the most general way possible: Namjoon's ex-girlfriend broke up with him when he opened up to her about the fact he was questioning his sexuality. He is doing great now! His family was very supportive of him.</p><p>Curiouscat: <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a><br/>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a>, where I post moodboards, excerpts etc. etc.</p><p>see you on friday for... guess what... the talent show &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Lie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jimin has gotten by thanks to the support of his fairies and a newfound friendship with Namjoon, who has also come up with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. Jimin's parents have lifted the dance ultimatum, and all would be well were it not for how he feels every time he thinks about - or sees - Taehyung. The two of them separately signed up for the talent show, each one with their reasons... let's see how that goes.</p>
<p> <em> IF YOU TOLD ME YOUR NAME for the little project thing, click <a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock/status/1375522650890571777?s=21">here</a> to see it. And thanks for signing up for the show! <em></em></em></p>
<p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2cn8rNlgnQOJoqWqXRvWQu?si=wuRZokzoTzmGEqPU9vpvaA">Lie</a> by BTS.<br/></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><strong> Disclaimer: </strong> there is a BTS’ song in this chapter, for which I directly wrote the translation. Unsurprisingly, the meaning is adapted and interpreted in light of THIS story – I am in no way suggesting that a similar meaning is the true one, and all that, etc. etc.</p>
<p> <strong> I highly suggest you listen to both Jimin's and Taehyung's talent show songs when they come up!</strong></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Jimin had a plan.</p>
<p>He finally had a sound plan for coming forward and asking his parents for a chance.</p>
<p>A summer school – one that wasn’t even secured yet – was not as radical as telling them for the second and final time that he wanted to pursue dance as his life career, but it was what it implied in the long-term.</p>
<p>The plan was simple: astonishing them so much at the talent show that they would not be able to refuse his plea for a chance to audition for the CBC summer school. And once he had got in, his plan was to tell them this was only the first step of his prosperous dance career.</p>
<p>Yes, of course, he could have lied about wanting to do it with no other end in mind other than spending a nice summer doing something he loved, but he was tired of holding back. He knew that if he chose this and committed fully, he would have a really good chance at becoming a professional and living on it. It was the only thing in life he was sure of, and he was tired of wasting time making obligated choices and taking silly risks that had never paid off.</p>
<p>This was what he was going to do in his life.</p>
<p>Hence, Jimin knew he had to give the best performance of his life, one that would leave flabbergasted both his parents and the selection committee at CBC. He also had only nine days to prepare it and school to keep up with, but with more free time coming from the end of the History group work, a newfound synergy with his tutor, and the fact he did no longer run after unworthy boys, he was as determined and confident as ever in his chances of succeeding.</p>
<p>Therefore, when the Spring Blossoming show night came, he felt fully prepared, if not over-confident.</p>
<p>He had worked on his number on his own, with a few tips from his dance teacher and from Hoseok (who had finally picked up dancing as a more serious hobby like Jimin had suggested over and over). The song he had chosen was one by a contemporary soloist he had found by chance, but it felt so personal and close he could have written it and sang it himself. He wasn’t going to do that, but he most definitely was going to dance it like no one had ever seen.</p>
<p>Now Jimin was backstage with Yoongi and Hoseok – well, backstage as in one of the free classrooms in the same corridor as the stage entrance to the assembly hall.</p>
<p>He had moved some of the desks out of the center of the room to play the music and feel the song through his body. He did not need to practice it again, he simply needed to feel it and make it truly his before he stepped on that stage. There were still six or seven people ahead of him, so he could concede himself another round.</p>
<p>He played the track again, and when the song ended he focused on his breathing, steadying himself.</p>
<p>"Are you ready?" asked pixie-sized Yoongi, who was sitting cross-legged on one of the desks.</p>
<p>"Yes. I am. I just hope that the people they put at lights and sound don't mess this up because I didn’t ask for much, but if it goes wrong I will be doomed forever" Jimin exhaled again and stretched to touch his tiptoes.</p>
<p>He was already wearing the pants and shirt he had chosen for the choreography; he only needed to put on a vest and the last, but very important, piece.</p>
<p>"I’ll be there with them and accidentally wave my wand in case they forget something, don’t worry" pixie-sized Hoseok was lying on top of a large file cabinet, Lord knows why.</p>
<p>"Thank you… I know I have no reason to worry about this with you two by my side, so, if anything goes wrong, it just means I am cursed" Jimin now stretched his hands and arms, his voice very casual for the fatality of his words.</p>
<p>"You are not. And if you were, it would just mean we would have to stay with you for a long amount of time to be sure you are not too miserable" Yoongi chimed in.</p>
<p>"True, and also-" Hobi’s words died on his lips as the door to the room opened with a bang.</p>
<p>The two of them barely had the time to turn into animals when Namjoon rushed in.</p>
<p>"JIMIN, are you here?? Oh, finally, I’ve been looking everywhere for you" he came in after closing the door with way more care behind him.</p>
<p>Namjoon was supposed to film him during his performance, so he was a welcome presence, but now Jimin had to explain why his Golden Retriever was on top of a cabinet. Joon spared a glance to the dog and his brows creased for a long moment of silence, but then he just shook his head and walked towards Jimin.</p>
<p>He must have grown accustomed to the particular tendencies of the boy’s pets by now.</p>
<p>"Is there something wrong?" Jimin’s headspace was very fragile in this moment.</p>
<p>"Well, no, but – oh, nice candles" the room was, in fact, filled with scented candles to put Jimin in the right mood.</p>
<p>"Thank you… so… what’s going on?"</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah, right. Nothing much… - Namjoon scraped the back of his head – Except for the fact I enlisted for the talent as well, so I wanted to ask if you don’t mind sticking around after your performance. I will be in the last few since I decided way too late and had to beg the committee and blah blah"</p>
<p>"What are you doing?" Jimin asked with curiosity.</p>
<p>"I’m… well…. I’m rapping?"</p>
<p>"Is that a question?"</p>
<p>"No – I am most definitely rapping. I just didn’t know what your react-"</p>
<p><em>"YOU RAP?"</em> Jimin screamed, most definitely breaching through his oasis of peace and quiet.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I do…<em> Jesus,</em> you are more surprised than they were"</p>
<p>
  <em>"WHEN? WHERE? HOW? WHY? SINCE WHEN?"</em>
</p>
<p>"It’s mostly an underground-bars and local-tournaments rapping kind-of-thing, it’s not like I have any songs on official platforms but SoundCloud…"</p>
<p>
  <em>"OH SO YOU RAP-RAP? FOR REAL?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Jimin, they will hear you shouting from the hall!" Joon reprimanded him, but he was laughing.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I’M SORRY!"</em>
</p>
<p>"Anyway… yes, I rap. I have done it for some time now, but only a few of my friends know it because I want to cultivate this for myself, and I’ve always felt like showing off in front of the school would not help me. So yeah, I’ve always kept it under the radar, and all the people in the organizing committee who know me were just as surprised"</p>
<p>"Yes. I totally get it..." Jimin sighed. He knew where the other boy was coming from too well.</p>
<p>"I know. I must admit that you signing up was part of the reasons why I decided to try this, so, thank you for giving me a much-needed kick in the ass" he chuckled. </p>
<p>"What else has changed your mind, then?"</p>
<p>"It’s my last year, I’ll be saying goodbye to high school for good in a few months, I’ll be even moving cities, so it’s not like I’m trying to use rap to make a reputation around school or be voted the most popular in the yearbook. I’ve seen, at parties, how people act around the popular kids, and I’ve never wanted to be in that position… but now? Honestly, who cares? I can go out with a bang and still stay true to myself"</p>
<p>"That’s… that’s just amazing, Joon? I can’t wait to see you perform"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I’ve also just seen a really cute guy walking by in the corridor so it wouldn’t hurt to make an impression"</p>
<p>Jimin laughed, his heart filled with happiness for his friend.</p>
<p>"I’m so so excited for you and I can’t wait to see you out there"</p>
<p>Namjoon smiled back, then the kid in line before Jimin was called and it was a whirlwind of chaos of putting out candles (Jimin), pushing desks back into place (mostly Namjoon) and throwing everything back into Jimin’s bags in a few seconds (Jimin) before rushing to the other end of the hall with bags and pieces of clothing in every hand (mostly Namjoon, who volunteered to be a human hanger), pets stomping behind them.</p>
<p>When they reached the stage entrance, Joon gave Jimin a quick pat on the back and ran off in the other direction, towards the audience doors.</p>
<p><em>"Break a leg!"</em> he shouted, before disappearing back into the assembly hall.</p>
<p>The moment had finally come.</p>
<p>Jimin left his bags in the small backstage space while the name-calling guy headed off to direct another person onto the stage. He recognized him as a kid from the organizing committee named Wooyoung, who despite being barely 15 seemed to have the energy and authority to make everyone do what they wanted. Jimin was amused, only slightly scared by him. </p>
<p>Someone else from the committee took the stage and presented the act - a magician, apparently. </p>
<p>Jimin buttoned up his vest and took a piece of burgundy fabric out of his back pocket, holding it in his right hand. He would wait to put it on till he was in the spotlight, for good old dramatic effect. He adjusted his cuffs, straightened his hair, checked that everything fitted him perfectly, and waited by an unused speaker, his foot thumping lightly on the ground. Something else was thumping quickly too.</p>
<p>With the usual glittery purple cloud, Hoseok and Yoongi materialized in human disguise in front of him.</p>
<p>"Come here" Yoongi motioned him to come forward and in a second Jimin was in his arms, hugging him securely but not too tightly, feeling the warm embrace of his body. Hoseok put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing in and closing the distance for a group hug.</p>
<p>Maybe Jimin lied, maybe it wasn't just the adrenaline making him jiggly, maybe he was a little afraid of exposing himself like this. And of course he would realize it two minutes before stepping on the stage.</p>
<p>But if not now, when?</p>
<p>"Okay" he whispered after a minute, when his heartbeats had eased down.</p>
<p>"Okay" the fairies replied, and detached themselves from him.</p>
<p>"You’ll do great, Jimin, you are fully prepared for this and we’ll be there to make sure everything goes off without a hitch" Hobi gave his shoulder a last rub.</p>
<p>"You’re an amazing kid and not only you deserve this because you’re amazing, but you worked your little ass off and made Hope and I sweat like we'd never had to cheer you up, so there is no way in Fairy Land this could go wrong. You hear me?" Jimin nodded at Yoongi, now a stir of emotions mixing up in his chest.</p>
<p>He took Yoongi's words in and thought back to all the time he spent preparing. He nodded again, like he meant it this time. He saw the fairies smiling at him one last time before they disappeared in a puff and went to their positions to make sure everything went smoothly.</p>
<p>Jimin was alone now.</p>
<p>He knew the five minutes of the previous student were almost over, so he righted himself, slowing down his heartbeat and easing his breathing.</p>
<p>He approached the lateral entrance to the stage.</p>
<p>The adrenaline kicked in, slowly but steadily.</p>
<p>He knew he was ready.</p>
<p>He was eager to show and to prove what he could do. He was eager to show and to prove what he deserved.</p>
<p>The audience gave a soft but convinced round of applause, and Jimin saw a short-haired girl walk past him on her way out as the appointed presenter, another younger guy with black hair, stepped back into the spotlight.</p>
<p>It was time.</p>
<p>"And now, please welcome Jimin, Park, a new addition to our list of talents, who will delight you and enchant you through a dance piece choreographed and performed by himself…</p>
<p>It was time. He was ready.</p>
<p>
  <em>…titled, caught in a lie"</em>
</p>
<p>The audience gave an encouraging round of applause as Jimin stepped on stage, his face immersed in the performance the second the light hit him. He assessed the platform’s dimensions for the billionth time, and positioned in the chosen spot.</p>
<p>He was in his natural habitat.</p>
<p>The presenter walked away, and the lights turned to Jimin only. </p>
<p>He took a few deep breaths, waiting for the public's murmurs to fade away.</p>
<p>He then stretched the piece of burgundy fabric in front of him, and that was the clue for the instrumental music to start.</p>
<p>Softly, gently, he caressed the cloth with his fingers, watching it lovingly and draping it by his side, letting it brush past his arms and cheeks.</p>
<p>He then took the edges, and put it in front of his eyes.</p>
<p>With another swift movement, he was knotting it securely in place behind his head, the fabric stretched from his forehead to the bridge of his nose. Blood-colored darkness descended in front of him.</p>
<p>He heard a few murmurs of surprise.</p>
<p>The violins hit their crescendo, and Jimin started moving as the song’s beat kicked in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he assumed the final position, he heard the audience’s loud approval before he saw it.</p>
<p>After a few seconds holding the pose, he straightened and removed the bandage from his eyes with the same grace and effortlessness, ruffling his blonde hair around his forehead.</p>
<p>He opened his arms and bowed, the performance facade fallen down and an eye-to-eye smile taking up most of his face.</p>
<p>He knew that sometimes a few people stood up for the talent acts they liked the most, but almost everyone was standing now, every parent and pupil and member of school staff who could fit in the hall. It was a standing ovation.</p>
<p>His eyes managed to find his parents, who were enthusiastically clapping halfway down the room. His father, of course, threw in an appreciative whistle. His gaze then fell to the left, where Namjoon was standing close to the stage, his phone aimed at Jimin and his other hand giving him a thumbs-up.</p>
<p>He bowed again, threw his hand over his heart and exited the stage as the applause toned down.</p>
<p>All Jimin wanted to do was to shout and to scream and to hug Yoongi and Hoseok so tight he would break their ribs. The fairies swiftly appeared on his vest as he made for the exit door – he just needed to be in the privacy of the classroom for them to materialize.</p>
<p>A few of the students who were organizing the talent brushed past him and complimented him, presenter included. Jimin realized what this would mean for his image around school. He was going to be a rockstar. But he didn’t care about that at the moment, he only wanted to cry of happiness with the people he loved the most.</p>
<p>He quickly crossed the backstage doorway, a big smile still plastered on his face.</p>
<p>But lost in his thoughts of glory, he bumped into someone so hard he felt his shoulder throb. That person had come from the corridor and was clearly just going in the way Jimin had come out.</p>
<p>"Ouch" Jimin rubbed his shoulder and bent to pick up the phone who had flown out of the hands of the other person.</p>
<p>The screen lit up, the picture of a boy smiling as a cat walked over his back. He knew pretty well whom the phone belonged to. Of course, Jimin just couldn't have a single moment of peace and quiet in his whole fucking life.</p>
<p>Fuck. </p>
<p>"Taehyung" his gaze went up to meet the boy’s, who had been staring at him and massaging his other shoulder the same, but didn't stay on him for long. </p>
<p>Just looking at him was making him sick.</p>
<p>
  <em>Think of the performance. Think of the summer school. Think of the applause.</em>
</p>
<p>"Thank you. And I’m sorry – his hand extended to get his phone back – for not paying attention to where I was going"</p>
<p>"No, I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention" Jimin gave him his phone back. He just wanted to run away.</p>
<p>"I think we both were in the wrong, then"</p>
<p>"Mh, yeah. Cool"</p>
<p>"Cool"</p>
<p>"Okay"</p>
<p>"Okay"</p>
<p>"Alright" Jimin turned to go away before any concrete thoughts, angry ones, sad ones, miserable ones, broken ones, could surface in his mind and show themselves on his face.</p>
<p>"Wait" Taehyung reached for him but let his hand fall back down the moment it brushed Jimin’s elbow. <em>Wait,</em> he repeated.</p>
<p>Jimin felt goosebumps grazing over his skin, even if there hadn't been any physical contact. He turned around, letting a raised eyebrow do the talking.</p>
<p>"I just wanted to say… that was really good. It was more than good – it was phenomenal. I’m sorry it was the only time I saw you dance – the school saw you dance – <em>I mean, that it was the only time you participated</em>; but it was exceptional, so thanks… for sharing that… even once... and, uh… the song was also… good" Jimin watched Taehyung struggle for words, which was <em>very much</em> unlike him.</p>
<p>"Glad you paid attention to the meaning" he hissed.</p>
<p>"Yes, very... uhm, It was brave, what you did"</p>
<p>"Thank you, I did it for myself" Jimin answered plainly.</p>
<p>"Yes, of course you did. Are you staying around for the rest of the show?" naturally, Taehyung hadn’t been called to perform yet – students who sang were usually called last.</p>
<p>"I am. For Namjoon" the blonde was quick to add.</p>
<p>"Oh, does he…?" Tae gave him a quizzical look.</p>
<p>"Yes, he is a rapper. A very good one, in fact. Eats up all the competition at the underground clubs we hang out at. And he is also my good friend"</p>
<p>The other seemed slightly taken aback by the revelations.</p>
<p>"Okay… I hope you’ll be around for my song too"</p>
<p>"I don’t think you get to ask that of me" Jimin’s answer came out harsher than he wanted to, but he could not fake his hurt much longer.</p>
<p>"I know, I just… I really, really hope you stay" Taehyung’s exhaled, as his eyes kept staring into Jimin's. He seemed very tired, and his hands were playing with his phone, as if he was trying to find something more to say. He didn't.</p>
<p>In the end, they both just turned their backs to each other and walked away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jimin closed the classroom door behind him with a slam and shoved his bag in a corner with a strength he didn't know he had. He turned the lock and a second later Hoseok and Yoongi materialized in flesh-and-bone fairies.</p>
<p>"Oh, Jimin, that was incredible" Hobi started off, and then they were complimenting him so fast they were eating each other’s words.</p>
<p>"Never in millennia have I ever seen something like that"</p>
<p>"The Canadian Contemporary Ballet Company won’t be able to say no, you’ll get in <em>the very moment</em> they see the video"</p>
<p>"I must admit I was worried about your balance with the eye bandage but the risk made everyone sit on the edge of their seats"</p>
<p>"They could not take their eyes away, even the professors stopped chatting!"</p>
<p>"And I swear they kept on chatting through every single performance, even that girl’s wonderful poetry recital. Assholes"</p>
<p>Jimin slid to the ground next to teacher’s desk and curled up, his knees to his chest.</p>
<p>"Jimin?" Yoongi threw a hand on Hobi’s chest to shut him up.</p>
<p>"I thought that I was over it, but seeing him hurts so much" Jimin raised his head, revealing tears rolling down his cheeks.</p>
<p>"Oh, Minie" Hoseok and Yoongi appeared at his sides, the green-haired fairy leaning his head onto the boy’s shoulder.</p>
<p>
  <em>"I was so happy and now I’m fucking miserable, this was supposed to be my night-"</em>
</p>
<p>"It still is. It still is" Yoongi reached for his hand.</p>
<p>"Then why do I feel like asking you to transport us back home and never take my head out from under the covers ever again? It doesn't matter what I do, every time something good happens it turns bad"</p>
<p>"Feeling like that is normal, Jimin. You really gave your everything to doing better at school and to this performance, and you did so well at them. You just never had time to process what happened with Taehyung, you never confronted him – he never confronted you either, so it’s natural that at the first interaction you two have it all comes crashing down. Even if more than a couple of weeks have passed" Yoongi rubbed circles into his palm.</p>
<p>"But this doesn’t take anything away from the splendid night you just had, or the fact that your parents are here to support you. It doesn’t even mean you are fatally destined to find pain in every good moment, trust me, no matter how much that seems real right now" Hobi added.</p>
<p>Jimin nodded weakly, swallowing a lump down his throat.</p>
<p>"It will get better, but you need to know that moments like this will happen again. It’s still okay though, it’s human – and not only human, I would say" Yoongi smiled as Hobi materialized a cotton tissue in his hand.</p>
<p>"Here, take this, I know you want to cheer Namjoon from the front row"</p>
<p>Jimin accepted the tissue and sobbed into it, letting his pain flow freely but also trying to believe in the words of his godparents. After all, they had been alive for millennia, and they had been so kind to him. He <em>wanted</em> to trust them. Why was it so difficult?</p>
<p>He was thankful for their silence as he quietly weeped into the tissue.</p>
<p>When he finally stopped shaking and opened his eyes, he found the fairies staring at each other eloquently. Tears had stopped coming out of Jimin's eyes, but he could still feel the traces they had left on his cheeks.</p>
<p>"Since we are on the topic... and before we get back to normal business… - Yoongi took the floor and scurried to get in front of the other two – I better get this out of the way"</p>
<p>"And in a way that does not defy any rule, which will be hard" added Hobi.</p>
<p>"Yeah, no joke, but I need to say this now because I think I have found a way to. I have a theory"</p>
<p>"A theory?" Jimin questioned him. His chest felt extremely light and incredibly heavy at the same time.</p>
<p>"Yes, a theory about Jin I’ve developed lately, and shared with Hope already. I don’t know all that’s behind it, but I think that I just got the final confirmation. I didn't question it much at first, but the time and place he found me at the lake-side... some stuff that has happened... the scene at the bonfire… I started being dubious. And from what I have seen just now, I’m almost certain"</p>
<p>"What are you certain about?"</p>
<p>Yoongi sighed in frustration, bumping his fist lightly on the ground.</p>
<p>"Ugh, I can’t tell you, it’s in the rules, but now <em>you</em> can get it" </p>
<p>"Good thing you are sitting already, Jimin. Think back to the phone you just picked up from the ground" Hoseok laid an hand on his shoulder and stared at him, his expression clear as day, trying to make Jimin understand telepathically.</p>
<p>It took a few seconds for the gears in the boy’s brain to click together.</p>
<p>"No. That’s not possible… it can’t be" he shook his head vehemently. </p>
<p>"Give me a good reason why it can’t?" Yoongi crossed his arms.</p>
<p>"Simple. Taehyung doesn’t have any issues, he’s not like that" his tone was matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>"Here we go again. As I told you before, <em>you can’t know that</em>"</p>
<p>"It can't be. It doesn't make sense"</p>
<p>
  <em>"Why?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Maybe he has a cat, and that's it. Maybe it's Jungkook's"</p>
<p>"Jimin, please" Yoongi shot him a deadly stare.</p>
<p>"Think about it. It <em>does</em> make sense" Hobi added.</p>
<p>"Suppose you are right. Then Jin must have corrupted the Fairy Court, somehow, and got assigned to someone who didn’t need a fairy just to be closer to you. And what do I need to make out of that?" there could be no other explanation. So, not only was Taehyung popular and <em>already</em> loved by everyone, but he also got a fucking fairy free of charge. Jin must have given him some very good relationship advice.</p>
<p>"Well – Hoseok added – Seokjin may be very influential and <em>could</em> potentially be able to choose the best fit or assignment for himself, for whatever reason he wants to, but getting assigned to someone who doesn’t need a fairy? And <em>a teenager,</em> most of all? - he paused, trying to assimilate what he had just suggested - Jimin, that’s… <em>that’s so crazy there isn’t even a rule about it.</em> It just can’t happen. It can't. Helping somehow miserable kids is at the basis of everything we are and do"</p>
<p>"Yes. And I repeat - it's very very unlikely for fairies to stray far of godchildren. Yeah, you can tell me he was with a friend who took the picture, but why would Jin be so friendly with someone he doesn't know? C'mon Jimin, you know him, you must see this as well..." Yoongi went on, but his words stopped reaching Jimin's ears.</p>
<p>In what kind of alternate universe was Kim Taehyung unfortunate, depressed or distressed?</p>
<p>
  <em>In what kind of alternate universe did Kim Taehyung need a fairy godparent?</em>
</p>
<p>The gears in Jimin's mind kept turning and clicking, but they didn't reach any conclusion.</p>
<p>"I saw the lock-screen before… I did... it went out of my mind after all that happened... and then, I-I just never thought he would be… I mean, you can’t see the cat well or I would've recognized him but it was right there… and it never crossed my mind… because I didn’t think… that Tae could be… that he could..." well, the emotional wreck left by that Friday's events had surely classified the lock-screen memory as non-relevant in his mind.</p>
<p>But then again, why would Taehyung need a fairy?</p>
<p>"I don’t have any precise idea of what his deal with Taehyung his, but at least we know something…" Yoongi keep explaining as Jimin stood up. He needed to do something about this.</p>
<p>"Can you fix my face please? I’m a mess. I wish for my face to not look like I've just cried my heart out" he said.</p>
<p>Hoseok waved his wand.</p>
<p>"What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Singers should have started by now. I don’t want to miss Taehyung’s performance. Let’s go"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jimin got back in the assembly hall quietly and made for his parents as one of the acts ended their performance, a girl with impressive rapping skills. The Parks congratulated him with stars in their eyes and his mother squeezed his cheeks. He left them only after they had promised him they would talk about something Jimin needed to ask once they went back home.</p>
<p>The boy made for the lateral seats, that had been reserved for students and performing acts, while parents filled up the center of the room. He hadn’t asked for a reserved seat, but squeezed in Namjoon’s as his friend had gone backstage to prepare. Another act was presented, and Jimin tried not to think about who would come next. This girl was not as good as the previous one, but the audience still gave a small round of encouraging applause.</p>
<p>She left, and it took a minute for the presenter to take the spotlight once again - in fact, it took someone backstage shouting <em>"YEOSANG! The next one!"</em> and a soft chuckle of the audience. The boy was poised but seemed to be slightly bothered by something, as emerged from his subtly sarcastic tone. You really didn't want to mess with the organizing committee. </p>
<p>"And now… since he seems to <em>finally</em> have made up his mind and grace us with his presence… - Yeosang coughed, his voice rapidly changing tone – we present to you an act that you<em> surely</em> already know. In fact, you may know him as V from the basketball team or simply from the good-looking pictures in yearbook… it’s been a while since he gave us the<em> honor</em> of singing at the talent, and he has never performed an original song like this one; so, let’s welcome him and his newfound inspiration warmly..."</p>
<p>Had the presenter just said Tae had been uncertain about taking the stage?</p>
<p>He was not one to rethink his actions, always so confident and assured. Especially not in front of the whole school.</p>
<p>What was going on in his mind?</p>
<p>Jimin wondered what he had sung for the talent before… he wondered just how and why he had written an original song for this specific show.</p>
<p>He was excited and scared – for him, for Taehyung, for Lord knows what. Was he going to be in the s...</p>
<p>"Without further adieu, here is Kim Taehyung with his original song, <em>Scenery!"</em></p>
<p>Jimin swallowed the knot in his throat (and his thoughts in the back of his mind) and joined the audience for a brief introductory applause. Taehyung took the stage as the presenter exited and cast him an expressive glance.</p>
<p>A microphone was positioned in the middle of the platform, for all the singing acts that were now lined up.</p>
<p>Taehyung<em> looked</em> at ease, but Jimin knew his body language pretty well and he could see that his back and shoulders were tense, that his jaw wasn't relaxed. He was wearing gingham pants and a white t-shirt with a beige cardigan over it. Same as when he bumped into Jimin, but with no coat on. His dark brown hair was frizzled in the front, but somehow still looked put together, and Jimin wondered why his seat was so freaking close to the stage. </p>
<p>Too close.</p>
<p>The audience’s noises and V signs died down quickly as Taehyung took center stage ad adjusted the mic stand. He rolled his shoulders and nodded, a signal for sound to kick in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The piece started off with some background noises Jimin couldn't make out precisely. Leaves rustling, bells tingling, maybe a bit of wind blowing... then the proper music came on.</p>
<p>The instrumental introduction was mostly piano, a few notes hit delicately but sharply.</p>
<p>Taehyung looked around the audience as it played – Jimin hoped he wasn’t looking for him and resolved to fix his eyes on his own shoes, but the moment he looked back up their pupils met.</p>
<p>Jimin did not know what to do, and Taehyung held the stare until he started singing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>On a street full of flowers, I see you, today as well</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Would I be able to hold this scene in me</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tae’s eyes were almost closed, his hand caressing the microphone without holding it. What was the song talking about? What or who did he see, and did not want to forget? Which memories did he want to hold on to?</p>
<p>It was with the next verse that Jimin knew something was definitely up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I cradle what I feel now in a park where the morning moon has left</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This song goes towards you</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The park. The morning moon. This song is for you.</p>
<p>Tae’s eyelids fluttered and – once again – he looked in Jimin’s direction for a brief second before fixing his stare on the back wall of the hall. He needed to stop right there or people would notice.</p>
<p>For his part, Jimin could not form a single coherent thought. He just listened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I hear the sound of the film reflected on the moon in the night sky.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The night sky. The night moon. The pictures.</p>
<p>The memories.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I still wonder wonder beautiful story</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Still wonder wonder best part</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I still wander wander next story</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taehyung’s voice was crystal clear, each note expressed beautifully with equal parts technique and sentiment. His loved ones must have been so proud of him, Jimin thought, so proud. He had no idea Taehyung sung at all, and no clue he could do it so exquisitely. If the boy had ever sung at the shows, he had done it a long time ago, before Jimin started crushing on him.</p>
<p>What was he wondering about? Best part of which experience?</p>
<p>Jimin was completely mesmerized, so lost in thoughts he missed a few lines of the song, but Taehyung <em>fixed</em> his stare on him – more than for a few seconds this time – and he was brought back to reality.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I want to make you mine</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Brief seconds of instrumental followed, but the boy did not detach his gaze. Jimin held his breath, or maybe he had simply stopped breathing.</p>
<p>Tae seemed sure of what he was doing, but when he parted his lips again – was that a tremble?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>My heart feels sad, having missed the very scene at the very moment</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I regret it and hope that the very moment comes again</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wasn’t just looking at Jimin: he was staring into his soul. He was telling him something.</p>
<p>And for a second, it seemed pretty clear.</p>
<p>He closed his eyes again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Gathering the moonlight piece by piece,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will make a lighting</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So, just like yesterday,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>please come in front of me</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tae’s right hand brushed past his chest, over his heart, as his eyelids fluttered shut again. His voice was still clear as day, but Jimin could feel his disposition at changed. His tone on the last line had almost seemed pleading, but just for a brief second.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I still wonder wonder beautiful story</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Still wonder wonder best part</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I still wander wander next story</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I want to make you mine</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He repeated the chorus two times.</p>
<p>Here was the part Jimin had missed - he was wandering and wondering into and about a "next story". But what could that mean? Taehyung had not shown any inclination towards talking to him for the past two weeks. He hadn't even asked for a chance to explain himself, if that was even possible. So what was he wondering about? What future was he thinking about? </p>
<p>And how could that go hand in hand with the next verse?</p>
<p>He then took the microphone in his hands and came to sit at the center edge of the stage. Jimin didn't think he would have survived if he had dared come to the right, just in front of him, but at this point he was too caught in the song to properly think about anything. He was just feeling, and he wasn't sure he liked his feelings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>If you leave, leaving your footprints behind,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will keep their warmth</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will keep them in black and white</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The song died with his last whispered words.</p>
<p>Jimin did not have the time to process them as the audience erupted in cheer all around him. Taehyung’s head was still hung low, but the moment the public started to clap he raised it and a big, closed-mouthed smile spread over his face. Jimin could not see him – a few of the people around him had stood; and his knees felt so weak he did not trust himself with standing up. Taehyung jumped back on the stage and bowed politely to the audience. A few whistles came from Tae’s friends and some more from all of his acquaintances. After a minute, parents seemed satisfied with their show of support and sat down.</p>
<p>The presenter came back on the stage and acknowledged Taehyung with a nod as they walked past each other.</p>
<p>"Wow! Am I right? Fantastic, and an abundant five seconds within the time limit. Make some noise for our own V!" he incited the audience, even if the performer had already left the stage.</p>
<p>"Without taking up too much time before I introduce the next talent, please consider supporting Taehyung on Soundcloud if you liked the song… <em>Scenery</em> was the title. Okay, splendid!" the presenter looked down at the list in his hand.</p>
<p>What was up with the preferential treatment anyway?</p>
<p>Alright, he was Taehyung after all.</p>
<p>"And now, for our next act…" Yeosang's words got lost as Jimin fetched every bit of strength he had left, directed it to his legs and sneaked out of the room.</p>
<p>He did not know what he wanted to do, even if he felt like he needed to do something, but what exactly? It was all too much right now. He needed to think. He needed to speak with Hoseok and Yoongi and also to just be on his own and fucking think.</p>
<p>He looked left and right in the corridor, and thankfully no one was there. He needed to hurry, though. It was too risky disappearing from the hall, just in case anyone walked by as he was vanishing in a cloud of purple smoke, so he half-ran and half-tiptoed to the school entrance.</p>
<p>
  <em>Was Taehyung looking for him now?</em>
</p>
<p>He closed himself into the nearest room and asked his fairies to have them materialize in his bedroom.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The moment Jimin's feet touched the wooden floors of his house, he felt like he took his first real breath of the past hour.</p>
<p>He let his bag fall from his shoulder, and Yoongi and Hoseok appeared in fairy form just a second later. Weirdly enough for them, they were just staring – at him, at each other, at him again.</p>
<p>"Wait here. I will go shower in ice and then maybe my brain will function again"</p>
<p>Fifteen minutes later, Jimin re-appared into his room with his hair damp, a clean cotton tracksuit on and a towel in his hand. Hoseok and Yoongi were exactly where he had left them – like, exactly there. In the same position. Jimin plopped onto his bed and sat crossed-legged.</p>
<p>"Now we can talk. But first – I need to listen to it again" he did not have the Soundcloud app on his phone, so he took out his laptop and looked for the song.</p>
<p>He found it after a couple of wrong turns and similar names, and played it in religious silence. Hearing it live was another thing, but with the lights low and no-one snacking on popcorn two rows behind, it was as if he heard it again for the first time. It was a different experience, but just as destabilizing.</p>
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<p>
  <em>If you leave, leaving your footprints behind,</em>
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  <em>I will keep their warmth</em>
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  <em>I will keep them in black and white</em>
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<p>Taehyung exhaled as the song came to an end, and Jimin lifted his eyes up on the fairies, whose tiny bodies were propped unceremoniously on the bed frame.</p>
<p>"So…" tried out Hoseok.</p>
<p>Jimin glanced back to the screen, and it was only now that he noticed it.</p>
<p>That it noticed it was him.</p>
<p>Taehyung had used one of the pictures he had taken at the natural reserve as the song cover, the image rendered in black and white. A stroke of black paint covered up Jimin's face – the reason why he had not recognized himself, never having seen that picture before. Not many people would have been able to recognize him like that, actually.</p>
<p>When Taehyung had stopped singing at the talent show, Jimin was trembling all over. He had not understood what he was feeling, but he knew something was up. Now he wasn’t trembling, though he was still feeling very much, but at least he thought he knew a bite more about what was up.</p>
<p>He knew he needed to talk to him.</p>
<p>"So, I’m going to text him and ask to meet up" and before he could really think it through, he had grabbed his phone, typed and pressed send.</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... what's up? I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS CHAPTER I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! I edited it a lot, so it ended up being longer than chapter 9. </p>
<p>Did you guess the song right?  And have you noticed that the banners get darker? ... mh... interesting... hehe...</p>
<p>• Credits for Scenery's translation: <a href="https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2019/01/30/scenery/">Doolset Bangtan</a> (the best BTS translator there is)<br/>• Jimin's Lie performance is inspired by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_hQjxGSS7k">THIS</a> performance, minute 1:20. I still can't believe he did that.<br/>• You can listen to Scenery <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ca9FvIGoFs">here</a> (it's not on spotify but on soundcloud).</p>
<p>Curiouscat: <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a><br/>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a></p>
<p>Chapter 11 will be up on FRIDAY 2nd of April instead of Tuesday - I'm packed with university stuff early next week and I want to edit the chapter carefully. </p>
<p>I can't believe there is only two chapters left. I'm on the verge of tears.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Zero O'Clock</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jimin has decided to shoot his shot for an important ballet summer school, and has performed wonderfully at the school talent show. He has also done his best in ignoring Taehyung, until he found out Seokjin is his godparent. That put everything in a new perspective, and led him to see the boy's talent show act... which put things in an even newer perspective. Confused, excited, unsettled and only slightly nervous, Jimin has asked Taehyung to meet up.</p><p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4AlihYDqxXshKhvh5tnMfP?si=t8rHwg-MRJC8KmhsDSvvdg">Zero O'Clock</a> by BTS.<br/><br/>I keep on editing the chapters so THIS is definitely the longest one, with 7.7k words. Enjoy!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <em>Trigger warning for very brief mentions of homophobia in Taehyung's parts, but they are so brief you almost don’t see them. </em>
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<hr/><p> </p><p>It took Taehyung way longer than Jimin had expected to answer his text. That was enough for him to reflect but also for doubt to wash over the few things he thought he had understood.</p><p>The song was for him, right?  </p><p>And the song clearly said <em>I want to make you mine</em>.</p><p>But it also clearly said that Tae was okay keeping the warmth of memories close to him, if Jimin decided to leave him behind, and that he was... content with it? Fine?</p><p>For sure, the song was about regret for stuff that had happened in the past but also about treasuring some of those moments.</p><p>Was it about fear that similar moments would never happen again? Or simply about the fact that what had happened had been a beautiful friendship and Taehyung did not hold anything against Jimin, but at the same time he didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, like… forever?</p><p>The screen lighting up had Jimin jump up from the bed, driving all these thoughts away from his mind. They were no good for him and for his glass armor. He would have asked Taehyung, and that was it, no point in making up theories – and he knew he deserved a little closure, at least. The song was <em>something</em> but it was also extremely complicated for him to unwrap it by himself. Too easy to interpret it in whichever light he chose.</p><p>And that couldn't happen again.</p><p>Hoseok and Yoongi had been listening to the piece over and over and staring outside the window in silence, or giving expressive glances to the other. Jimin was torn between asking them what they thought and fearing the answer. They had not commented Taehyung's act at all. Jimin didn't know if that was a good or a bad sign. He didn't know what to make of Jin's assignment either, but he probably wasn't in the position to make a realistic guess. He would have to ask.</p><p>At the new received message, the fairies came hovering on both sides of their godchild's face, staring down at the screen. Jimin had forgot to change Taehyung's contact name, too focused on ignoring him, and flushed at the realization.</p><p> </p><p>10:37 [from: TaeTae ♥♥]</p><p><em>I apologize for the late answer, I wasn’t expecting you to text me. The show has just finished. I hope you still want to meet, and let me explain. </em> <em>We can meet at the park on Hongik Avenue, should be halfway between the school and your house.</em></p><p> </p><p>10:38 [from: TaeTae ♥♥]</p><p>
  <em>I totally understand it if you’ve changed your mind, or want to meet tomorrow.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jimin was quick to answer, before any of the fairies could give their input. He knew how to deal with this, or at least how he felt he needed to deal with this. And had he been wrong, at least he would have no one else to blame.</p><p> </p><p>10:38 [to: TaeTae ♥♥]</p><p>
  <em>The park playground's ok. Meet there before 11?</em>
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</p><p>10:38 [from: TaeTae ♥♥]</p><p>
  <em>I will be there.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jimin took a deep breath and locked his phone.</p><p>"Okay, boys, we are going on a mission. I need to walk there to clear my mind. Feel free to tag along, well <em>–</em> Jimin's brows furrowed as he went over something in his head - scratch that, please come and be with me, but not to do anything weird, or well, <em>just anything at all, okay?</em> Just... just be there"</p><p>The boy jumped to its feet, walking to his wardrobe to change out of the cotton tracksuit into something warmer and maybe just slightly cooler. Perhaps he was a little nervous, and it was not the good kind of nervousness that had preceded his act at the talent show. He knew he was going to do well, then. He had not assurances about what he was going to face now.</p><p>"As if we don’t need you to tell us explicitly <em>“I wish”</em> before we can actually do anything… always the dramatic one" Hope teased him in a clear attempt to distract him and cheer him up.</p><p>It didn't do much for the know in his stomach and the sudden dryness of his mouth.</p><p>"We will be there, honey" Yoongi winked and, in the usual purple puff, two sets of puppy eyes looked up at him.</p><p>Jimin nodded without too much conviction and finished zipping up his black skinny jeans. He eased into a plain t-shirt and a black turtleneck, too distracted to think clearly about his choices but knowing those were a good match. He threw a fuzzy red cardigan-style jacket over it. He still had his earrings on.</p><p>Alright.</p><p>He was halfway out of his room when he stopped in his tracks and walked back in.</p><p>He had forgot his headphones.</p><p>Clutching onto them, thankful for not meeting his parents on the way back from the show, he closed to the front door behind him and downloaded the Soundcloud app on his phone.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Taehyung was already at the playground when Jimin got there, and he seemed lost in thought, as if he had been there for some time already.</p><p>The fairy pets went to play in the grass field as their godchild approached the other boy, putting his headphones in his pockets.</p><p>The park had a few attractions. There were a couple of swings (a classical one and one that looked like a big basket), a merry-go-round that Jimin used to despise with a passion, a precarious seesaw and a big jungle gym, plus the monkey bars and slides.</p><p>The wood and iron structure of the slides had once been brightly colored, but now the tones were faded. There was a shorter slide and a higher one. The latter had seemed so incredibly scary to little Jimin that he had burst out crying when the other kids had made him follow them up there. Just one year later, he had sucked up his fears and slid down (he didn't want to be the only one left on the dock), and he had loved it so much his parents had had to drag him away with force.</p><p>One could climb up to the shorter slide with an easy ladder, while to get to the higher one there was a flat wooden plank with a rope to hoist yourself up. The two slides were connected by another wooden bridge. While the sides of the slides were completely closed off to prevent kids falling, those of the bridge only had some horizontal bars for security, but one could slip a hand or foot or leg through them comfortably.</p><p>Taehyung was sitting on the bridge, his legs dangling off the border and his elbows resting comfortably on the middle bar. He was looking across the street and it took him more than a few seconds to realize Jimin was approaching from the other end.</p><p>"H-hey" the moment he saw Jimin, it was like he had been woken up from a trance. He seemed disoriented.</p><p>The boy immediately turned to stand up and come down.</p><p>"Don’t worry, stay there" Jimin addressed him as he took a little run-up and climbed up the slide to get on the shorter dock.</p><p>That was another way you could get up there, of course.</p><p>"Thank you for coming" Taehyung said when Jimin landed on the dock, and then returned to his original position.</p><p>As Jimin walked next to him and settled down in the same position <em>– not too close, though –</em> he had, for once, the impression that their roles had been inverted. It was different, more pronounced than when Taehyung had stumbled for words just a few hours earlier.</p><p>In fact, Jimin was nervous, and felt like that single moment would carry too much weight and that if he messed up or Taehyung did, then there was no going back, that was true, yes, but he also knew he looked at least a little confident, the adrenaline of his performance still high and a little time to process what had last happened on his hands, and he had a vague idea of where he stood. He was scared, but he was not lost.</p><p>Taehyung looked utterly lost.</p><p>"Thank <em>you</em> for coming… I was the one who asked" he answered softly.</p><p>"Yes, well… maybe what I meant is thank you for staying. Back at school"</p><p>Jimin simply pursued his lips in a thin line and nodded – they both knew it was Taehyung’s time to talk.</p><p>"…crap. I thought I knew where to start but now they all look like terrible options to me" Tae let out a small throaty laugh.</p><p>"You could start by apologizing"</p><p>Jimin did not want the other to feel <em>overly</em> guilty – he had just found out there was much he didn’t know about Taehyung, since he had a fairy godparent too – but he knew he deserved a good apology, at least.</p><p>"Yes… - Taehyung looked at him – You are right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did that day at the library, I just shouldn’t have. There is no excuse"</p><p>He paused, and Jimin noticed his right hand was clutching the bar tightly.</p><p>"But... but I hope I can make you understand what it has been like for me… you don't have to forgive me just because of this, but I need to say it. I want to say it..."</p><p>Jimin had to fight his instincts to just reach out and hold a clearly distressed person in his arms and calm them down. Taehyung inhaled and exhaled deeply, and when he went on, it seemed like he had found a bit of direction.</p><p>"Turning you down was not easy, but what I don't forgive myself for is never reaching out to you after I pushed you away. After that moment… I should have looked for you. I was full of doubts, I was afraid… that is true. But I should have talked to you about it. I should have made you understand. Which looks pretty easy in hindsight. But it wasn't then, and I know it sounds like a pathetic excuse but... it wasn't. And I only have my word on that"</p><p>He paused for a brief second, going over something in his mind.</p><p>"So, yes, I acted very poorly. Sometimes I just avoided thinking about it, but a lot of the time I thought about it. At all times. Any day. It just never came up to anything. Then I put some of my feelings into words, into music, and it helped a great deal. It seemed easier. Even if the words don't really convey all I mean, while I put them down I found exactly what I needed to do. Sounds weird, but it's what it is. I don’t really know how ready I am, but I do know you deserve an explanation, and I deserve to be frank with myself too, so I will try. I would have reached out to you in a few days after the show <em>- for real, that was my plan - </em>but I'm glad you still wanted to see me"</p><p>Taehyung was now looking at Jimin, and went on – or, tried to.</p><p>"There’s so much to say, and some of it is pretty crazy, actually"  </p><p>Was he referring to the fairies, maybe?</p><p>"Trust me, I know" Jimin sighed but immediately regretted it – was it the right time to have that talk?</p><p>Luckily enough, Taehyung brushed it off, too concentrated in finding his starting point.</p><p>"I guess I can start from the moment it went wrong. Or, the moment you saw it going wrong, the one that was most difficult for me" he sighed, leaning on the bar in front of him, the words he was yet to pronounce clearly weighting on him.</p><p>"I was so happy at first. I felt... so light. But then, all I could think after you kissed me, when I could finally think, was that you didn't deserve the poor excuse of affection I could give you. Well, yes, I couldn’t really think much at first… when I moved away from you, all the chaos in my head cleared and it pointed in one direction, and that direction was <em>– stop this, you can’t have this</em>"</p><p>Jimin swallowed.</p><p>"I don’t know your story, Jimin, and I won't pretend I do, but from what I think and the little I’ve seen, your parents love you a great deal. I hope they do. You deserve it. Mine don’t – or at least, they<em> think </em>they do, but they don't love me in the way I need them to love me. They love my shell, they love my attitude, they occasionally love my jokes, they always love my accomplishments, yes, of course, but they refuse to see beyond that, and they surely do not love me for what makes my heart beat. Neither for who does. They swiped the first under the carpet, and Heavens forbid the second <em>ever</em> comes up" </p><p>Taehyung paused, and Jimin thought it was to collect his thoughts – he didn’t know what to say, and he felt like he should stay quiet. It was dark, so he couldn’t make out how Tae had stopped because his eyes were watery.</p><p>"Well, so, that was my first thought. That I couldn’t have this. That this couldn’t fit in my life. And I’m not trying to deny who I am, I know that I like boys the way my parents would want me to like girls. But what I’ve also always thought is that either I hide it, or that I just… wait. For a better day. Which is what I try to do. I wait. Because if I don't, then I don't know if they will see anything left for them to love"</p><p>Jimin tried to formulate a sentence that would not be too harsh, considering the rage he was now feeling.</p><p>"So, I pushed you away – and I admit it, and I apologize. I admit that my first thought was selfish, that it was about myself, even if in another way you could say it was a next addition in a series of self-sabotages" Taehyung exhaled loudly.</p><p>"When I could finally think properly, as I said, I thought about you. I did. And I stupidly thought that the best way not to hurt you was to ignore you. <em>What could I offer, anyway, if I had faced you?</em> Nothing. Just burden you with my problems. Best to ignore and let time work its own magic…" Taehyung trailed off, and Jimin found himself lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the boy’s profile under the pale moonlight.</p><p>He was feeling so many emotions at once he could not pinpoint a single one down. He wanted to hug him so tight he wouldn't be able to breathe and also slap him but kiss him and then punch his parents. </p><p>"That didn’t work out either. Time does absolutely nothing unless you wish it to do something, and truth is, I didn’t. Maybe a part of me wanted to burden you, to be selfish. I just needed to put it all together in my own way – so, I wrote a song. I needed to let you know in a way that would allow you to see. And to choose. I wrote a song..." Taehyung turned towards him, and half of his face got lost in the shadows while the other shined brightly.</p><p>"...I wrote <em>you</em> a song, Jimin"</p><p>"I saw the picture" was the first and only thing the other could say.</p><p>"What do you think about it?"</p><p>"I like it – Jimin smiled a soft, contained smile – But I don't know if I understand it. You're a good photographer, and a good singer, that's true"</p><p>"You know what I mean"</p><p>"I think I need you to say it"</p><p>Taehyung chuckled, an appearance of shyness peeping on his face for the first time since Jimin had met him. He had a rough idea what Taehyung meant, but he needed to hear it from him. He needed to make sure one of his interpretations fit the original meaning, and which one it was.</p><p>He especially needed to hear where the other stood now.</p><p>"What I mean is that I didn’t know how I felt about you at first. With what's coming... you'd probably expect me to say I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, or something like that <em>– Jimin’s heart skipped a beat at the sole mention of that word –</em> but that is not true. Thought you were cute? Maybe. You know you are, though. But the thing is... I just never saw a relationship in my short-term plans, so I never indulged in the thought. Never, with anyone, and after a while I became accustomed to it. I stopped needing to repress my feelings because I had drowned them so deep inside the well that they <em>couldn’t</em> possibly resurface. Maybe it was self-preservation, call it what you want" it was the fact that Taehyung’s words weren’t even charged with sadness that made Jimin so unbelievably sad.</p><p>Self-destruction, he would have rather called it.</p><p>"I think the first moment I started thinking about it from a different perspective was that one time Jungkook mentioned you like boys. I don’t even remember how it came up, maybe it was simply a remark about how no straight boy could dress that good or something"</p><p>"I never hid it, though" Jimin was not surprised people around school knew about his sexuality. He had never been in a serious relationship, but he had hung around with some other students, boys and girls alike.</p><p>"I know, but I never paid attention" Taehyung shrugged.</p><p>"That was shortly before the trip. We hadn’t had many chances to be together before that, but<em> then</em> we did. And trust me, it was all very confusing to me. When I woke up in the middle of the night… - Tae bit his tongue, but Jimin knew what he was referring to – I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, it was all very, ehm, respectful? You were just curled up and clearly cold so I asked for- I mean, I just held you closer and I, well..." he scratched the back of his head.</p><p>"The moment it stopped being confusing, it was the moment it started being scary. I knew what I was feeling but I saw no good way to handle it. No fair way. I didn't know what to do so I just stopped thinking about it and enjoyed what we shared. Not imagining a way I could ask for more. When you kissed me, and filled my heart with so much joy an- oh my God, no, this is cheesy" he suddenly interrupted himself, palming his face to stop his rambling.</p><p>"Just a bit, but I'm enjoying it so please go on" Jimin laid on the middle bar as well. </p><p> "I-I never knew I could be so happy and light, but then everything came back to me, and all I repaid you with was pain. I know it, and you didn't deserve it, so yes, I guess with the song I also meant that I understand if you want nothing to do with me, but I needed to tell you all this. I needed to be honest"</p><p>Taehyung finally exhaled, coming to an end for his surely meticulously-prepared discourse, easily taken over by human emotions nonetheless. Or maybe just stopping himself there, on the edge of the cliff.</p><p>Now both of them had to be grateful for the darkness, and the brief yet sufficient distance, to hide their glossy eyes. Jimin was still feeling a whirlwind of sentiments, but some of them were clearer than others, brighter than others.</p><p>"Tae…" Jimin called on him. The stillness of his body was worrying him sick.</p><p>The other boy turned to face him, staring right into his eyes.</p><p>"I really mean what I wrote in the song. You are a rare flower, Jimin. I realized a lot too late, but even now I don’t know if that's the right way to put it because I don’t know if there will<em> ever</em> be a right time. Not in High School, at least. Not when and how you deserve it. About me... all I do is wonder, and make up scenarios, and regret, and hope, but you are incredible, and if you want to leave, the pictures will be enough for me"</p><p>In the silence, an heartbeat. </p><p>Another one, a different one.</p><p>Jimin thought he could hear them.</p><p>"I don’t want to leave, and I don’t care about your parents and you could've said this all two weeks ago and spare me and my poor heart some pain and I won't make you confront them while you're scared and feel lost cause I totally get it and I <em>need</em> you to feel like you are not a burden, okay? You're fucking incredible and I want to love yourself too, and also <em>fuck</em> the song is so beautiful and anyone should consider themselves lucky to be in your life, okay? It's not the other way around" he burst out, only slightly startling the other. He was panting.</p><p>He continued.</p><p>"All I need to know, <em>all</em>, is that your regret and your hope are real"</p><p>"How can I prove that to you?" Taehyung sat up, his eyes scanning Jimin's face in anticipation.</p><p>"How about <em>you</em> come here and kiss <em>me </em>this time?"</p><p> </p><p>Taehyung sat still for a second, maybe expecting a different kind of answer. Maybe that wasn’t even what he was aiming for – maybe he simply wanted to apologize for hurting his feelings and explain himself to move on, Jimin suddenly realized.</p><p>Maybe it didn’t mean he was ready for anything else.</p><p>Yet, after very few yet interminable seconds, he placed his hand next to Jimin’s body on the bridge and pushed on it to close the distance between them, settling his body next to his.</p><p>He was so close Jimin could feel him breathing and make out all the strands of hair that tumbled over his brows and almost covered up his eyes entirely. Not all of then, but all those hit by the moonlight.</p><p>Jimin's eyes looked down to where their hands almost touched, and shifted his ever so slightly for their pinkies to touch (at which a shiver ran down his spine); but he would do no more. He would let Taehyung prove it.</p><p>And he did.</p><p>Almost too quickly, almost as if he was afraid of what would come if he had spent another second waiting, he placed his hand around Jimin’s neck and the back of his head, and pulled him in for a kiss.</p><p>He didn't waste many seconds before he asked for more either, holding Jimin closer with every heartbeat but ever so gently, as if he was scared he would break him, or maybe afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it if he only dared to let his hands wonder a bit more, or to stop and stare in Jimin’s eyes.</p><p>Jimin, for his part, had his free hand on Tae’s tight, but he was craving for more contact and his legs were constrained by the lower bar of the bridge, so he was the one to break the kiss, panting, trembling.</p><p>"Wait, wait…" he wiggled out of the bar and stood up, holding onto it for balance.</p><p>He intercepted Taehyung’s pupils growing wide for a moment with fear he would leave, and then with surprise when Jimin positioned his left foot on the other end of Tae’s tights and sat down in his lap, his back resting against the middle bar.</p><p>"Now’s better" he said as he tangled his fingers in the back of Tae’s hair. He wrapped his legs loosely around his waist as the boy smiled before pulling him in for another kiss.</p><p>Jimin positioned his elbows on Taehyung's shoulders and parted his lips, letting the other set the pace. He melted in his arms, that circled his waist and back with such tenderness and yearning at the same time.</p><p>They spent minutes like that, leaning onto the other, their hands discovering the curves of the others’ shoulders and backs, the veins running beneath their forearms, the curvature of their jaw, the occasional mole on their neck or a paper cut on their fingers. Jimin ruffled Taehyung’s hair and Taehyung kissed the tip of his nose.</p><p>They became acquainted with one another in a way that was yet for Tae to discover and for Jimin to truly appreciate, their eyes taking in the features of the other up close before their lips demanded to meet again.</p><p>And again.</p><p>And again.</p><p>They didn’t say much, not even when they stopped kissing and settled in a comfortable silence, Jimin thoroughly focused on studying how their hands fit in one another, and Taehyung just observing him, deep in thought. His legs had gone numb but he didn’t care in the slightest.</p><p>Jimin eventually looked up, averting his gaze from their hands to Tae's face.</p><p>"You're staring, it's rude"</p><p>"Oh, pardon me. How can I make it up to you?" his gaze lowered on Jimin’s lips for a second.</p><p>"You know, you kiss quite well for someone who hasn’t had much practice"</p><p>Taehyung looked unfazed, sending him a challenging stare.</p><p>"You know, you touch me pretty well for someone whose hands are so tiny"</p><p>Jimin's jaw almost touched the floor.</p><p>"You didn’t just say that"</p><p>"Mh, what if I did?"</p><p>"Come here and practice" Jimin pulled him in from the collar of his shirt and they got lost in one another once again.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>When Taehyung finally admitted to his legs going numb – and only because a cramp seized his right tight - they moved to sit next to the other, under the cover of the dock of the higher slide. The dock was just big enough for both of them to sit comfortably, but they settled with their shoulders touching, their hands intertwined as one of Jimin’s legs was thrown over Taehyung’s.</p><p>They sat in silence, rejoicing in the moment and in the warmth the other's body offered.</p><p>It was almost midnight.</p><p>"There... there is something else I need to tell you. Something different" Taehyung mumbled, waking Jimin from a state of pleasant nothingness.</p><p>"Mh?" he settled his head on the boy’s shoulder, his free fingers playing with the collar of his jacket.</p><p>"I would ask you to promise me not to freak out, but I know you won’t <em>– well, at least not in the way anyone else would.</em> I won’t ask that, but please contain your reaction because I don't know how the memory-erasing procedures or all of that stuff works, and I would love to avoid it if I can"</p><p>Jimin lifted his head up and looked at Taehyung. He couldn’t possibly mean what he thought Tae meant, but what else... but why would Tae know <em>he</em> wouldn't freak out about it, if the boy was thinking what he was thinking...</p><p>"I know you have fairy godparents" he said.</p><p><em>"WhAt?!?"</em> Jimin half-shouted, half-jumping to his feet, before repeating it under his breath.</p><p>How the hell did Taehyung know?</p><p>He thought that he was going to admit to having a fairy godparent, not that he knew about his.</p><p>"I know you have fairy godparents – he repeated – But you have nothing to worry about, because-"</p><p>"Because you have them too. I know" Jimin interrupted him.</p><p>"Wait, what? How do you know <em>I</em> have them?" Taehyung leaned forward.</p><p>"How do <em>you</em> know?" Jimin asked back.</p><p>Was that going to be a "I asked you first / and I asked you second" moment?</p><p>"Well, I asked him, of course, a little while back – after the trip. He had told me about them being around, because they knew each other, but it honestly surprised me it was you they got assigned to. And it made me feel twice as guilty after what happened… because there must be so much I don’t know, and I won't ask you to share if you don't want to but I’m sorry if-»</p><p>"NO, NO,<em> HOLD THE FUCK ON</em> – you can’t just ask whom a fairy belongs to?"</p><p>"That’s correct, but you can ask if a specific person has fairies"</p><p>Jimin's head plopped into his hands. </p><p>"For real?" he rubbed his temples.</p><p>"Yes, Jin – my fairy, I mean, he checked the rule book, and you can ask if someone specific has fairies, though you can't ask whom a certain fairy has been assigned to. Rules were blurry and confused about it, but it was officially added after that kid who's made lots of wrong wishes was granted a similar wish"</p><p>Jimin let himself fall on the wooden dock in despair.</p><p>"I can’t believe this… we spent so much time trying to understand who he was bound to, following him around twice, baiting him with Yoongi and risking Hoseok burning down the whole park in rage, <em>and all I needed to do was ask" </em>he sighed, then propped himself up on his elbows.</p><p>"I actually found out about him only an hour ago, after I saw your lock-screen and my fairies recognize Seokjin… so they set me on the obvious direction... fuck… why am I so stupid…" he kicked the dock in disappointment.</p><p>"Well, it's your fairies who should have known, not you"</p><p>"That's also true... - Jimin pondered - You know, that's the main reason I decided to stay at the show. It's the reason I thought there must be another explanation for what happened, or something that I didn't know... I wish I didn't run to conclusions so fast"</p><p>"I would have done the same. It doesn't matter" Taehyung shrugged.</p><p>Jimin didn't know whether that was entirely true.</p><p>"So... I take it you know his name"</p><p>"And I take it you know my fairies’ names too" </p><p>"Yes, and not just that" Tae laughed.</p><p>"Right, of course, the drama… I know it quite well too… <em>Hoseok, Yoongi, would you please come?"</em> Jimin called on his godparents as Taehyung did the same. The fairies materialized as pins on their jackets.</p><p>Jimin had a sudden deja-vu… he had seen that purple pin before: it was on Tae’s duffel bag when he had moved to his room at the lodge.</p><p>Of course.</p><p>"No point in hiding, we all know about each other" Taehyung said, and in a puff, the three pins turned into the usual talking animals.</p><p>A wise choice, considering they definitely wouldn’t have fit on the little dock if they had become full-sized humans. They barely did fit like that. And Jimin feared a brawl could break loose if they had turned into pocket-fairies, with bodies and fists they could use.</p><p>For a couple of long seconds, everyone just started at each other.</p><p>"We... we won’t get caught like this, right?" the first one to speak out was Jimin, who was now as uncertain about his knowledge of the rules as ever.</p><p>"Not unless you make a big fuss about it or one of us snitches… - Hoseok gaze averted to Jin, but it was just for a second – so I'd say we’re okay"</p><p>"Cool"</p><p>"Cool"</p><p>Jimin look at Taehyung.</p><p>"This is weird"</p><p>"Just a bit" he conceded.</p><p>Seokjin was the one to properly break the ice, as he walked up to settle between Taehyung’s legs.</p><p>"Well well... would now be the right moment to say you wished to be in the same room as Jimin on the trip?" he purred, rejoicing in the bomb news he had just dropped.</p><p><em>"JIN!"</em> Taehyung turned slightly red, his hands going to his face.</p><p>"You did?" Jimin turned to him, unable to connect the pieces of information in his head.</p><p>"Well, yes… maybe... maybe yes" despite being clearly annoyed at the snitch, the brunette started rubbing the white cat’s back.</p><p>Jimin felt Hobi trying to settle beneath in his arm so he gladly gave him space, stroking his fur as the dog somehow managed to lie down in the cramped dock.</p><p>"That’s cute" Jimin teased him.</p><p>"Don’t get too ahead of yourself here, I simply asked to switch because I knew nobody in my room and I wanted to be with a familiar face…"</p><p>"Sure thing" Jimin couldn’t stop smiling.</p><p>"I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to think I was weird but hey, thank you as always, Jin" Tae addressed the cat, as Seokjin just purred and turned to have him scratch his belly.</p><p>"But I told you, it isn’t weird, it’s cute" </p><p>He had almost done the same. Almost. Despite not wanting to use magic to be in Tae's company, it was a completely different thing if the other boy had done that.</p><p>"Whatever" Taehyung turned away – was he really <em>that</em> red in the face? It was too dark to tell, but Jimin relished in the moment.</p><p>"So... does Jungkook really have a brother who needed help with homework?"</p><p>"YES! - Taehyung's quick answer was louder than expected - Yes, he really does. That was casual" he relaxed.</p><p>Jimin chuckled, bent on teasing him a bit more, but then noticed that something was off.</p><p>It was way too quiet.</p><p>"Why aren’t you two as talkative as usual?" his eyes moving between his two pets.</p><p>Hoseok said nothing, just readjusted to indicate he wanted Jimin to keep on rubbing the back of his head. Yoongi stood as still as a statue.</p><p>"Guys, what’s going on?"</p><p>The black cat looked at Hobi meaningfully, but the dog gave no indication he wanted to talk. Yoongi sighed.</p><p>"Far from being sad at his joyous turn of events, and trust me I'm only counting myself because I'm in public, I still don’t understand how it was possible for us three to get <em>casually</em> assigned to you two at the same time, and Jin didn’t tell me last time we met"</p><p>"Yeah well, maybe because you were too busy doing the talking yourself" Jin rolled on his stomach, his ears sharp on his head but his tone more mocking than angry.</p><p>Jimin and Taehyung shared an expressive glance – should they just stay quiet and leave this to them? Jimin felt clueless – he was so happy about what had just happened and so shocked at finding out they knew about the other’s fairies, he hadn’t thought that this was the first time the fairies saw each other since the bonfire. And the first time Hoseok and Seokjin faced each other since... when?</p><p>"I said what I said, and I’m not taking it back, but I’m glad to hear you are taking it well…"</p><p>"Yeah Yoongi-ah, as I've already told you, it's no problem, I won't ever approach you or whatever it is that you wanted. In fact, I actually just met a really hot guy at the talent show and had ten minutes that lasted ten thousand years, so, wait, what’s your name again?"</p><p>Yoongi just rolled his eyes.</p><p>Jin always used a good dose of irony and a lot of sarcasm, so it was hard to tell whether he was faking it or he had actually transformed into a human and hooked up with someone. It was even harder to tell whether he had understood what Yoongi had told him, and if he was hurt or not.</p><p>But that was Seokjin, and only time would be able to tell, if not Seokjin himself. Maybe Tae could help?</p><p>"Okay, so, it was all a coincidence?" Taehyung asked, testing the waters, and the moment the white cat looked up to him, Jimin could tell his gaze softened. Even his tone was different when he spoke.</p><p>"It actually wasn’t"</p><p>"What happened then?"</p><p>"Alright…" Jin got up from Tae’s lap, clearly displeased, and sat down straight so he could look at everyone.</p><p>"Gentlemen, hold your jaws before you swipe this dusty rotten floor with them, because I was actually assigned to Taehyung and cared about him and for him before <em>any</em> of you <em>esteemed</em> fairies had even heard Jimin’s name"</p><p>"But… how?" Hoseok was in disbelief, and Jimin felt his body stiffen under his touch.</p><p>"Let’s not make this a race to see who’s the most miserable – or was – shall we? <em>I was assigned to him.</em> <em>Simple as that.</em> After that, I had many chances to take a look around school (the human one, that is), and one time I took a trip back to Fairy Land I had a look at the dossiers of kids and teenagers in the area. One plus one equals two, I found Jimin, well, he wasn’t on the priority list, but there is a lot of nice fairies looking for a job and blah, blah, blah… I took Jorgen to his favorite restaurant, I paid a visit to the President of the Fairy Court, I proposed your names, made your case, you know how it is..."</p><p>Hoseok was as tense as a bowstring, but Jimin knew he wouldn't lash out. It didn't take much to understand what Seokjin had done, and Hobi could not really be mad at him for that.</p><p><em>"Let me get this straight,</em> it is because of you that I have Hoseok and Yoongi?"</p><p>"Yes, in fact, it is because of me an-" Seokjin was still speaking when Jimin swiped him up in his arms and hug him tight.</p><p>Maybe too tight.</p><p>"Thank you" he whispered.</p><p>"See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you, now - he pushed with his paws on Jimin’s shoulders and he let him go - and I also quite enjoyed the drama. After millennia, it all gets pretty boring"</p><p>The cat went to curl back in Tae’s lap, resuming his original position.</p><p>"The only thing I want to make<em> absolutely clear</em> is that I want only what’s best for Taehyung, and I’ve already been with him through a lot, so, while I like to joke around and never take anything seriously, if I ever hear <em>any</em> insinuation – now it was turn for his gaze to drift in Hoseok’s direction – that I am with him and I stick with him only for some ulterior motive, I’ll make sure to steal said person’s wand when they are not looking"</p><p>Jimin knew what losing one’s wand meant – a millennium back to fairy godparents’ school, everyone’s worse nightmare.</p><p>"Yeah, well, sorry for being bitter but it’s not like you asked Jorgen to take us here because you have a big heart and cared about Jimin" Hobi scoffed.</p><p>It was this remark that made Jimin assume a different perspective for the first time… if he was not on the priority list, did he even deserve to have Hoseok and Yoongi with him?</p><p>"That’s minor details, he would have been assigned someone sooner or later – probably sooner, before he turned 19, because it’s rare for anyone over their teenage years to get a fairy, so if you like him you should be happy it's been you" Jin clapped back.</p><p>Yes, Jimin thought, that was probably true as well… he shook his thoughts away. He wanted to talk about something else.</p><p>"Alright then, now that we have solved this mystery and become good friends once again, why don’t you guys take some well-deserved time to rest?" Jimin suggested, his hand sneaking to reach Tae’s lower back.</p><p>"I think that is a pretty good idea" the boy added with the straightest face he could muster.</p><p>"I’ll see you back home" Jin rubbed his head on Tae’s belly and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke (very quick, almost like he was waiting to do just that).</p><p>Hobi followed, but only after he had lapped at Jimin's cheeks to show him the extent of his affection. </p><p>"Ah, Hobi..." Jimin whined while laughing.</p><p>"I'm proud of you, I'll see you soon" and with a puff, he was gone.</p><p>Only Yoongi remained - who cleared his throat.</p><p>"Alright kids, I'll see you soon enough, and please don’t forget to use protect-"</p><p><em>"YOONGI!"</em> Jimin screamed and crawled in his direction to catch him, but the cat disappeared with a smirk and his hand grabbed on glittery smoke.</p><p>Taehyung was laughing, and Jimin joined in to avoid further embarrassment. He gave him a quick peck on the lips, which became something more after Taehyung held him in place. It had been fifteen solid minutes since they had last kissed, after all.</p><p>Eventually, they slid awkwardly down the higher slide, Jimin landing with his butt and Taehyung rolling down and collapsing on top of him.</p><p>The brunette placed the quickest kiss on his lips before jumping to his feet, much to Jimin's disappointment. He extended a hand for the other to raise himself up, and the blonde accepted it.</p><p>He kept holding it tightly in his as the two of them walked down the Avenue together.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>They were still holding hands when Jimin realized his phone was buzzing in the pocket of his jacket, and he used his free hand to bring the zipper down and check the screen.</p><p>He had a single message from his parents, telling him they had just got home, and that if they didn’t see him in the morning, they only wanted to remind him how proud of him they were.</p><p>Then, there were something like a dozen unread messages from Namjoon.</p><p>Namjoon, his friend, who had filmed him and supported him, and whom he was supposed to hear and see perform on stage for the first time.</p><p>"Fuck" Jimin stopped in his tracks.</p><p>"Everything alright?" Tae asked, his fingers brushing Jimin’s forearm.</p><p>"No, well, yes, it’s just… I was supposed to wait for Namjoon's act, but I ran home right after you sang and I missed it. I never even messaged him… fuck fuck fuck" Jimin unlocked the screen and went through the texts.</p><p> </p><p>9:26 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>Here’s your video!! Send it to the CBC as soon as you can!!!</em>
  <em> [attachment]</em>
</p><p> </p><p>9:43 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>Hey, I can’t see you inside, are you around? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>9:48 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>I hope everything’s okay, your performance was amazing, if you’re still at school I’m up soon</em>
</p><p> </p><p>9:49 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>K I’m up next</em>
</p><p> </p><p>9:57 [from: Joon]</p><p><strong><em>HOW WAS IT???? BEST RAP OF YOUR LIFE???</em></strong> <em>If you even know what rap is hehe</em></p><p> </p><p>9:57 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>Just joking... or maybe not</em>
</p><p> </p><p>10:13 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>A girl I've never seen won reciting poetry, I’m sad cause I had a look at the judges' panel and your name was scribbled on a couple of sheets, but she was real real good, made me tear up. I take it you’ve gone home already, but if you’re still here <strong>I’ll be in the hall</strong></em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>10:14 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>BTW I hope you’re okay and nothing bad came up, your performance was extraordinary so you have no reason not to be celebrating!!!! Here’s my video, Jackson sent it to me, let me know what you think ;) [attachment]</em>
</p><p> </p><p>10:40 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em><strong>I’M SO SORRY JIMIN!!!</strong> I HOPE YOU WEREN’T WAITING FOR ME IN THE HALL, something came up. I’m really sorry, I’ll let you play Minecraft or whatever on my account to make up for it</em>
</p><p> </p><p>11:55 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>I was reading over the texts and it sounds weird, I’m okay, something came up in the good sense</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>11:56 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>Remember the handsome guy I saw in the corridors? Apparently, he was impressed by my set… I know you’ll understand. I’ll see you tomorrow, sleep well and for the love of God SEND THE VIDEO TO THE CBC RIGHT NOW YOU HEAR ME?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jimin smiled with a mix of fondness and disbelief. Namjoon and him had settled in their new relationship so easily it seemed like they had been friends for years. He had felt guilty as a thief reading the messages at first, but it seemed like Namjoon had had a good time anyway, and of course he had other friends there to support him. he didn't seem angry but still, Jimin would find a way to make it up to him. Maybe one involving magic.</p><p>He let Tae’s hand go for a brief second to type up a text quickly.</p><p> </p><p>11:58 [to: Joon]</p><p>
  <em><strong>I AM THE ONE WHO IS SORRY T^T</strong> So sorry I missed your performance, I really wanted to be there but something happened (nothing bad, don’t worry). I’ll explain. Now you have to bring me along next time you sing at one of those disgraceful underground rap things, you have NO choice. I'll get a fake ID and bring a sign. I’m so happy things took a good turn ;) and yeah, the CBC is what mattered anyway x</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>11:59 [from: Joon]</p><p>
  <em>HE'S ALIVE!! No problem, see you tomorrow. Do your homework</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jimin put his phone in his back pocket with a smile, his hand finding Tae’s fingers to intertwine between his. As usual, the boy’s honey skin was warm to the touch. They kept walking down the street, occasionally bumping into and holding onto the other, their hands never breaking contact. Jimin was tired but also felt as light and alive as he ever had in a long time.</p><p>He finally had an opportunity to do something with his biggest passion, and he was going to have a real talk with his parents about it.</p><p>He had a new, close friend whom he truly trusted and wanted to be there for.</p><p>He knew so many people around school he always spotted a familiar face whenever he walked down the corridors.</p><p>His grades had gone up, and it was his merit (well, mostly).</p><p>Hoseok and Yoongi would be waiting for him at home, sleeping peacefully, or bickering lovingly.</p><p>And last but not least, he was walking down the street hand in hand with Kim Taehyung when the town hall’s clock chimed midnight and signaled the start of a brand-new day.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>WELL.... I hope you liked that. And I hope I've not gone overboard with the dialogue but there was a lot of explaining and declaring and sharing to do. But, really, what else did you think could happen? </p><p>Also... does the name of the Avenue ring a bell? It's a tough one, I know, but...</p><p>I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!! *^* an artist has taken her time and talent to draw a scene from the fic and posted it on twitter, which was the best surprise I could ask for. You can find her drawing <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/unravelmuffin/status/1377750724512256003">here</a>. The scene is from the end of Chapter 8. TYSM, you made my day!<br/><br/>Curiouscat: <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a><br/>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a></p><p>The epilogue will be up on Tuesday and - spoiler alert - we will jump a little time forward. I keep on changing the finale, so who knows what we will end up with.</p><p>Thank you sm for supporting my fic!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Epilogue: Guys</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jimin and Taehyung have had a long and heartfelt discussion about their feelings and lives slash make out session. It turns out that Seokjin had been assigned to Tae first, and made it so that Hoseok and Yoongi would be Jimin's godparents. Namjoon has had a good night at the talent. </p><p>Flash forward, and it's the end of May already...</p><p>The title of the chapter comes from the song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1qQJWohzIrKMNIz6pyyKYw?si=MXlvTC9RQuiwsLPFTvLdpQ">Guys</a> by The 1975 (please listen to it while finishing the read).<br/><br/></p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Maybe Jimin woke up because of the sun hitting his eyes through the half-closed blinds, maybe because of Taehyung shifting his body and resting his head on Jimin’s fore-arm in a very uncomfortable way.</p><p>It was a Sunday morning of the end of May, and for the first time in forever, Taehyung’s parents had gone away for the weekend. It didn't mean that it was the first time he slept over, but rather that it was the first time he didn’t need to sneak out at 7 A.M. to be in his own bed before they could notice his absence.</p><p>The other's parents were on a very different page - they were already treating Taehyung like a second son, even if they didn't really know just how often the boy slept over.</p><p>About such sleepovers, Jimin didn’t mind cuddling nor being cuddled, he absolutely loved both sides, but he had found out – <em>another surprising thing to add to the list</em> – that Tae definitely preferred to be the little spoon.</p><p>The mentioned little spoon moved again and a sharp jab of pain pierced Jimin’s forearm, prompting him to slide it out from under his boyfriend’s head. Taehyung turned around slowly, his eyes still closed and his voice drowsy.</p><p>"Good morning" he yawned, taking his time in stretching like a cat, invading what was left of Jimin's personal space.</p><p>"Good morning, did you sleep well?" the blonde answered, interlacing their ankles.</p><p>Taehyung hummed in response and scooted closer, leaning against his chest.</p><p>They had the whole day to themselves, and while Jimin would have loved spending it all cuddling in bed, he also wanted to try out all the activities the town had to offer. Nothing special, but it was around four months since they had partnered up for the history project, and he really wanted to spoil his boyfriend in all the ways he could imagine.</p><p>Taehyung seemed perfectly fine and at peace with the world, though, and Jimin didn’t want to interrupt his blissful sleeping.</p><p>"Good morning, lovebirds!" a teasing meow came from the opposite end of the room.</p><p>"Good morning babies!" a bark.</p><p>"Good morning..." another meow.</p><p>Jimin turned his head in the direction of the two cats and the dog who, <em>apparently,</em> had decided to sleep in his room as well, despite having last seen them in the perfectly comfortable living room. Hoseok and Yoongi were cuddled in their usual pet bed, and Seokjin had materialized a plush white pillow on Jimin’s desk and was staring <em>right in his eyes.</em></p><p>"I’m suddenly very awake – it took Taehyung a second to prop himself on his elbows and shoot a deathly stare at Jin – Where did you say you want to go for breakfast?"</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>It was their first time going back together to the little café by the library, but this time things went much differently.</p><p>There was enough chocolate and pears cake to get two slices each if they wished to, but they still decided to share. They sat by the window, one of Jimin’s legs slouched over Tae’s, drank tea and coffee and ate tons of cake, feeding spoonfuls to the other.</p><p>They went to the Sunday town market and had a look at the stalls, then Taehyung took Jimin to a small contemporary gallery he knew of, just a little exposition of the owner’s pieces, intimate and beautiful.</p><p>Afterwards, they made their way to the main town park, which was on the opposite side of town with respect to where Jimin lived. The spring sun was warm on their skin, and walking hand in hand, conversing about whatever came to their minds – only scholastic matters were banned for the day – just felt so pleasant and surprisingly familiar.</p><p>The talent show had come up once again (it was a cherished conversational topic), and Jimin found out that Jungkook had sung as well, but after Taehyung, so of course, both his mind and body had been somewhere else when it happened. He had been quite good, too – nothing surprising here, just the two best friends being the best at everything they set their mind to.</p><p>But there had been a surprising discovery<em> indeed.</em></p><p>"I still can’t believe Namjoon and Seokjin hooked up" Jimin spoke his mind.</p><p>Only a few days before, he had casually found out that the man who had walked past Namjoon in the corridors had purple hair. Combining it with what Jin had said the night of the talent show (which apparently was not a joke to tease Yoongi), two plus two equals four. It had been quite shocking.</p><p>"Do you think we should tell him?"</p><p>"Tell him what? That he kissed a <em>fairy</em> who likely<em> witnessed the rise of the Roman Empire</em> and who<em> happens to be</em> <em>your godparent</em>? Hey... now that I think about it, he'd probably like to hear stories from his Roman days"</p><p>"Uh, I don’t know… something? I don’t even think they ever saw each other again, but I’m pretty sure I found Jin listening to his mixtape the other day"</p><p>"At least now all our fairies can be in the same room without risking World War III. Lots of tension, sure, but it’s better…"</p><p>"Can anything even happen between a fairy and a human?" Taehyung asked.</p><p>"I have no clue if there is any rule about it, I should investigate. Ask Hoseok and Yoongi without getting them suspicious, otherwise Hobi will try to steal Cupid’s job and turn Namjoon into a fairy or something" Jimin laughed.</p><p>"Can you imagine?"</p><p>"Hobi doing that? Of course. Winged and crowned Namjoon godparenting annoying kids? Not so much, trust me…" and they were both laughing at the picture.</p><p>"Besides that, I’m not letting your fairy steal my dearest friend away from me…" Jimin continued.</p><p>"Is that your idea of love?" Taehyung teased him, coming closer for a second.</p><p><em>"You know what I mean…</em> truly, of all that’s happened in the last month, Joon has been one of the most surprising turns" and he had good reason to say that.</p><p>From that first time, when Jimin had ungraciously borrowed his weed and pitied him enough for the older boy to pour his heart out in front of him (which had turned out to be just what Jimin needed the most), he had been full of pleasant surprises.</p><p>That <em>little </em>thing with the Canadian Contemporary Ballet Company had turned out incredibly well.</p><p>Jimin had prepared his full submission papers and attachments, and had confronted his parents about the immense opportunity it offered, and how it had come up. He had found the courage of telling them just how important this was for him, not only for the summer, but for the rest of his life. He had asked them to hear him talk for a while, and had gone over a long list of points he had prepared in his head (and maybe in a notebook hidden in his drawer).</p><p>The plan was relatively straightforward. He would finish high school and graduate with good grades, and would look for college programs while applying for ballet academies, contemporary dance companies and the such, so that if he wasn’t accepted into any of them, he would have a plan B. He would ask all the dance teachers he had ever had to write reference letters, and he would ask them to vouch for his passion if his parents didn’t believe him enough.</p><p>He also gave his parents plenty information on just how important and unique the summer opportunity that had opened up in front of him was. Jimin had probably talked uninterrupted for ten minutes, his eyes moving from his father to his mother to his pets giving him encouraging nods, while he gesticulated and walked back and forth in the kitchen. When he had finished his plea, he wasn’t on the verge of tears but he truly felt emotionally drained, as if he had laid bare his soul and stripped down all his defenses. </p><p>His father had cried, though.</p><p>He had cried because, he had said, he had never seen Jimin vouch with such ardor for anything, and he was proud of him – especially after he had delivered the best solo performance of his life at the school talent show (people had actually stopped him more than once in the corridors to congratulate him, and the fact that unknown faces knew who him was both exciting and scary).</p><p>His mother had looked at him with a gaze Jimin hadn’t been able to decipher, it probably was a mom thing, but that had somehow told him he had taken the right decision.</p><p>After subtly drying his teary eyes on a handkerchief, though, his dad had given him serious conditions – most of which Jimin had already come up with himself. Try out for the Canadians, okay, possibly a summer dance program in the closest city if that didn’t work out, okay. Absolutely mandatory to finish high school and have a plan B for college, absolutely mandatory to find himself a part-time job for the rest of the summer to have work experience on his curriculum in case preferred plans went wrong – okay, Jimin could do that.</p><p>He had thanked them and kissed them on the forehead as they sat down at the dinner table, and had ran up the stairs to his room to throw a party with Hoseok and Yoongi after pressing <em>send</em> on the application.</p><p>Less than two weeks after the confrontation, Jimin had heard back from the Admission Staff – he had been offered a spot. <em>The</em> spot.</p><p>He had thrown a second party with Hoseok and Yoongi, and invited Taehyung and Seokjin to tag along.</p><p>Jin surely knew how to have fun.</p><p>He had also been the one to suggest that Tae could materialize in Canada from time to time, taking advantage of having fairy godparents to cheat the harsh rules of long distance relationships. Jimin imagined that Tae’s fairy would be with him for quite some time, and he was really glad that his boyfriend would have at least three trusted people with him, and not only Jungkook anymore. He deserved that, and more.</p><p>Jimin was also liking the purple-head more and more by the day, but would not give him the satisfaction of saying it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Taehyung and Jimin got to the city park, which was more like a blend of a town park and a little forest, with bunches of trees dispersed around, clearings with tall and well-cut grass, earthy pathways to move around and the occasional tiled spaces with benches.</p><p>It was nice, but being on the opposite side of town, Jimin rarely went there. Taehyung was a frequent goer though, sometimes renting the basketball courts to play with the school team in summer. Jimin was quite excited at the prospect of showing up at the next match wearing Taehyung’s jersey, but they hadn’t really talked about how to act around school, for fear of rumors getting to Tae’s parents, and Jimin was fine with that – they would take it one step at a time. Tae also came here to hang out with Jungkook, and for that, he knew his way around the trees and paths pretty well.</p><p>Jimin had been pleasantly surprised by getting closer to Jungkook as well, mostly by running around at school or going to the movies together.</p><p>He had already suspected it, but Taehyung had told him how he was the only one who knew everything about him, how he was the person whom he had confided in from day one, even when he was embarrassed or angry or considered bottling his feelings up. Tae was not fake nor double-faced, but now that he was closer to him, Jimin could see he didn’t open up easily with everyone.</p><p>They lied down on a picnic blanket, in a nice spot by the edge of the woods, only the clear sky in their field of view, the conversation flowing smoothly.</p><p>"I know it may seem weird… well, not as weird as it would have seemed before, but I don’t like opening up with people"</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"A couple of bad experiences. Which I know, should not define how I approach people now, but they still do. I have always liked trying out new things, and I’ve always been quite good at most of them…"</p><p>"And modest as well, do not forget that"</p><p>Tae gave Jimin a peck on the head, which soon turned into a delicate scratch, and went on.</p><p>"And that is how I became popular around school, I guess. Especially because of basketball. I settled in with the<em> “right”</em> people from the first moment, bonded with them, I got introduced to some more people, I took part in more mainstream “cool” things… and that was it. The point is not being with people, I’m good at that, I like to socialize. I liked to socialize too much, I think" he paused for a second.</p><p>"I used to tell everything about myself, to trust everyone immediately, to think that If I leaned onto them a certain amount, they would put the same effort and care towards me… but I was wrong. I got disappointed many times, and after a while I started thinking that maybe they weren’t nice with me because they liked me, but just because they liked<em> being</em> <em>around</em> me. Being seen with the basketball team. Getting invited to parties. Whatever. I don’t understand that" Taehyung sighed and rolled on his side, his hand still combing through Jimin’s hair.</p><p>"From there, I started sharing a bit less, because in the end, if they didn’t really want to know about me, that would suffice. They would get what they wanted and I would save myself time, effort and disappointment. And for most people it works. Not for Jungkook, though, even if it took a while for us to get close – never for Kookie. I always opened up to him, and I think it’s what kept me a decent person through the years. And not for you, Jiminie, of course"</p><p>"You tried"</p><p>"It definitely didn’t work"</p><p>"I understand, though. It was self-preservation"</p><p>"Yes… probably, it was. But it was killing me. Your mere presence in my life had me sing <em>an original song</em> in front of everyone… it also got me to be nicer to myself, to accept myself and my flaws a bit more. I still feel a weight on my chest, sometimes, when I go to sleep or wake up in the morning. But in the last couple of months I have accomplished more than in the past two years"</p><p>"Accomplishments are bullshit. Acceptance takes time, your own time. And you are flawless already, Kim Taehyung"</p><p>Jimin wondered if that was the right thing to say, but by the coy smile on Tae’s face, it probably was.</p><p>They leaned back and soaked in the sun.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>It was too late for lunch when they woke up from the early-afternoon nap, but it was way too late for breakfast when they had gone to the café, so they decided it was perfectly fine to have a picnic at that hour.</p><p>Jimin rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms, and the two of them called for their fairy godparents together.</p><p>The three of them appeared, looking more at ease than usual – was it the beautiful day? or the forced coexistence of the past few weeks working its own magic? - followed by numerous wishes for food platters and fizzy drinks and ice cream.</p><p>They had decided to turn into their human form, because it would have been too difficult to enjoy the picnic without opposable thumbs, and too risky to do so with wings and crowns. They were far enough from other people not to worry about summoning food, though.</p><p>They had a lavish picnic, consisting in everything they could think of, cooked in the weirdest ways, dipped in the funniest sauces.</p><p>Jin and Hoseok had a spice resistance test, and when Jin won, Hoseok took it pretty well. No,<em> for real</em> - he took it really well, no sarcasm for once. He even patted Jin’s back as he was laughing, and he recognized the other's win, immediately gasping for air and water as the last bit of hot pepper hit the back of his throat. Jin materialized a glass of water for him, and called him with the<em> right</em> name.</p><p>Clear, evident progress was made under everyone’s eyes.</p><p>They spent the next few hours like that, summoning food from the other pole or a small town they randomly picked from a globe, eating till Jimin was pretty sure he would not fit in his leotard anymore, and drinking till they were sick of the way Coke tasted. They played card games, Yoongi and Jin bet fairy money (which neither Jimin nor Taehyung really understood the functioning of), and they collapsed on each other under the still-warm afternoon sun.</p><p>Jimin’s head was on Yoongi’s belly, and Hoseok’s was on his, creating a sort of puzzle of bodies on the picnic blanket. Jimin relished in the feeling of their bellies and bodies laughing whenever someone made a snarky comment, or of their fingers brushing past his shoulder or leg.</p><p>Quite recently, Jimin had taken another decision.</p><p>It was not an easy one, and he hadn’t shared it with anybody yet. Not even Taehyung, <em>definitely not</em> his fairies. He knew that the first time he had thought about a wish (if you could call this one a wish) without consulting Yoongi or Hobi beforehand, it hadn’t turn out as expected, but he also knew this was a different kind of decision.</p><p>He had first thought about it when something Jin had said had come up in the back of his mind, and it happened randomly, one time his attention went off during class, but he had kept thinking about it.</p><p>He had even asked Yoongi for the rule book to read over to be sure of what would happen once he had made his wish – yes, he had actually skimmed through the rule book.</p><p>Jimin knew he <em>wanted</em> to ask that, he knew he <em>needed</em> to ask that, and he was conscious that he had already postponed the wish by several weeks, but he wanted to wait just a bit longer, his fairies’ bodies leaning against him, their soft laughter filling the air with joy and magic.</p><p>So, he stood like that, letting every second be the last one before his wish. He remained like that until he could hear himself thinking, then he pushed softly on Hobi’s shoulder to sit up.</p><p>"I have something to say" he declared, earning a curious look from the rest of the group.</p><p>"Sure..?" Yoongi questioned.</p><p>"I have been thinking about something"</p><p>"Sure…?" Hobi’s eyebrows creased.</p><p>"I have been thinking about something Jin said – he looked at the purple-haired fairy – nothing bad, per se. He said that I wasn’t on the priority list for fairies when you two were assigned to me"</p><p>"Jimin, what are you…" Yoongi tried to explain.</p><p>"There’s plenty of us right now, you would have been assigned a fairy very soon anyway" Jin chimed in.</p><p>"I understand, guys, and I’m not saying this because I wish this never happened, far from that, or to make Jin at fault or anything like it. Let me speak for a second" he spared a glance at Taehyung, who had sat up as well, and found him focused on him. He nodded.</p><p>Jimin went on.</p><p>"Trust me when I say I’m really glad you were lurking around those files, Jin. Because otherwise I don’t know where I would be right now, how I would be, but most importantly – I wouldn’t have met you two" he moved his eyes from the pink-haired to the green-haired fairy, who were looking at him fondly.</p><p>"Still, I wasn’t on the priority list. And that had me wonder, and think over about all the kids, the boys and girls and teens who are on it…. who were on it three months ago, and who still are now. I don’t really know how the offer and demand of fairy godparents is going, you tell me it's great, but that’s beside the point" he reached to Hoseok with one hand, to Yoongi with the other, and they took them in theirs.</p><p>Jimin squeezed tight.</p><p>"I’m in a way better place now than when you appeared on my bed and gave me a heart attack for the first time. Not everything is settled and done as I want it, that’s true, but I don’t think I would even be on the normal waiting list right now, with all the struggling kids there is in the world and all the stuff that is going on" he looked at his two fairies again, but their expression hadn’t changed.</p><p>Were they sad, maybe disheartened? Were they simply proud of him? They must have been through this so many times… <em>did they even remember…</em> he could not think about that now.</p><p>He would never be able to think about that.</p><p>"And you know what? Because I really need to say this. You are assigned to us to grant our wishes, to get us the things that we think would make us happy, or play pranks, or help us clean the house in one literal second and make our parents happy. This is what really bugs me. Sure, Spa days were a dream come true and I’m going to treasure my new sunglasses collection as if they were the crown jewels… but that’s nothing. You get assigned to us, you grant our wishes, you get taken away or go away or get wished away, you get assigned again. But you know what? – Jimin let go of their hands for a moment – I only really had <em>one</em> wish, one freaking wish, and that wasn’t possible. It wasn’t allowed"</p><p>Jimin's gaze fell on Taehyung, who now knew the full story, and had already teased him repeatedly for it.</p><p>"In the end, all I needed was a little courage to go and ask for a stupid thing such as partnering up on a history essay. You didn’t give me that courage and I sure as hell didn’t have it, it was luck, it was a twist of fate, it was… well, it was magic" maybe he was tearing up a bit, despite his best intentions.</p><p>"And after that… after that, I needed support. I needed support to tell me I wasn’t being silly or pathetic in liking Taehyung so much, that I wasn’t wasting my time and energy in pursuing and loving music with my heart, that I wasn’t stupid because I couldn’t understand a physics formula which I still can’t understand, or that I wasn’t unlovable because I had no real friends… and you two gave me that. <em>You gave me all of that.</em> You could have granted all my material wishes and just stood back, seeing how they planned out, but you didn’t. You helped me, you cheered me on, you hugged me, you scolded me, you reassured me… and nothing about this is written in the rules. All the rules care about is that I say <em>“I wish” a</em>nd you make it come true. If you did that, I wouldn’t be here today. If you did that... I wouldn’t be happy today" Jimin had to stop because he realized that he was actually crying. He wasn’t sobbing, but tears were silently streaming down his face. </p><p>His voice broke and he cursed under his breath, using the edges of his sweater sleeves to dry his tears. He needed to say more, he<em> had</em> to say more, he needed to make sure they understood where he was coming from.</p><p>Suddenly, he felt long arms and warm hands wrapping him up from both sides, and he knew Hoseok and Yoongi were hugging him tight.</p><p>"Jimin…"</p><p>"We understand. We do"</p><p>Hoseok and Yoongi held him.</p><p>"All you needed was a little more care from someone else, and a little less care about consequences…"</p><p>"…wishes are great, for sure, they’re the most fun, but it’s the decisions you took that made a difference"</p><p>"You too" Jimin muttered under his breath.</p><p>"Yes, of course – Hobi gave a short laugh – Us too"</p><p>"I was right, Jimin. You've always been kind. Even too kind, maybe" Yoongi said.</p><p>They just stood like that for a few more minutes, until Jimin broke the silence.</p><p>"I wish for a napkin, please?" the fairies broke out laughing and Jimin felt soft cotton in his hand.</p><p>He thanked them as he blew his nose.</p><p>Jin and Tae were looking at them understandingly.</p><p>"Please tell me I read the rule book correctly and that I won’t forget you, right?" Jimin asked.</p><p>"Of course, you won’t. This is <em>a choice</em> you are making. And we won’t be that far…" Yoongi casted a meaningful glance to the purple-haired man.</p><p>Jimin hadn’t talked to Taehyung about it in detail, but he knew Jin would probably be with him for a while longer, and that the boy truly deserved him.</p><p>"You are taking a very mature decision, and it is just one in a series. Most time it happens against the kids’ will, and they forget, or they become too old, and the whole thing is inevitable. And besides…"</p><p>"Yes, Hobi, I know. I have many people with me, but they won’t be same as you" Jimin breathed, and he found that the weight he had been feeling on his chest had become lighter.</p><p>He had time to think about, time to rejoice in the company of the fairies and to ponder why his decision was the right one. There was no reason for him to feel overburdened. Saddened, sure, but not weighted down.</p><p>"You’re still free to change your mind and no one will hold it against you, if you do" Yoongi offered.</p><p>"I know. I've been lucky. And I've been holding onto it for as long as I could, but I have made up my mind. I need to do this"</p><p>"Yes, I just need you to know you’re not a bad person if you change your mind for another Spa Saturday"</p><p>Jimin laughed under his breath, but shook his head.</p><p>"I’ve already waited a bit, even if you didn’t know it… this needs to be now, or I’ll <em>never</em> gain the courage to ask again"</p><p>"Okay"</p><p>"Okay"</p><p>The two fairies reassured him, each of them putting a hand on his shoulder. Jimin crossed his arms over his chest and held them in place for a while.</p><p>"Okay" he nodded, and looked over to each of them to take in their faces, the curve of Yoongi’s eyes and the tip of his nose, Hoseok’s dimples and his heart-shaped smile.</p><p>He had pictures of the three of them, but he didn’t know what would happen to their figures once he had asked for his wish. Would they remain the same on the pieces of paper? Would he remain the same in their minds?</p><p>He squeezed tight before letting their hands go, and scuttled over next to Taehyung.</p><p>His fairies were looking at him, and Yoongi took out his wand to wave it in Jimin’s direction. A set of beautifully detailed enamel pins appeared on his light sweater – a purple-pink sunset and a luscious forest in shades of green.</p><p>"Okay" Jimin nodded again.</p><p>His hands were at his sides, shaking despite his best intentions, and Taehyung held one. He did not see it happen, because Seokjin was sitting on the other end of the picnic blanket, but next thing he knew, the fairy was on his other side, holding his other hand.</p><p>Jimin looked at Hoseok and Yoongi, smiling the warmest and most genuine smile he thought he had ever smiled in his life, despite the tears starting to well again in the corner of his eyes.</p><p>He took a deep breath, feeling the last of the heavy rocks tumbling down from his chest, never taking his eyes away from his fairies.</p><p>Then he spoke.</p><p>"<em>I'm content and I don't need my godparents anymore"</em></p><p>With two warm smiles and a huge cloud of purple, lilac and violet smoke, Yoongi and Hoseok disappeared.</p><p>Jimin stared at where they had been, the signs of their bodies still visible on the blanket, a bunch of orange blossoms they had picked together cascading from a paper cup.</p><p>He remembered their faces, he remembered their laughs.</p><p>He let out the breath he had been holding in and squeezed Taehyung’s hand, warm and secure in his.</p><p>Jimin was finally happy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>First things first: please go back and read the first 7 words of the fic.</p><p>So... this is the original conclusion I envisioned for the story, a full-circle moment, though I must admit I thought about changing it in the past few weeks. In the end, I realized it would make no sense for the build-up and the meaning, so I left it like this.</p><p>I cried while writing it, I cried while editing it (not a figure of speech).</p><p>But I hope you could grasp what I meant - Jimin is truly happy now. While the first chapter was a huge list of stuff that didn't go well in his life, now everything is better, while not completely fixed yet (can that ever be the case?). He still remembers Hoseok and Yoongi, and our kindest and sweetest boy just wants them to make another miserable kid happy. Well, yes, they may meet again in the future, you never know (especially if Joon becomes a fairy and carries him on trips to Fairy Land). Hell, you know what? Jimin and Taehyung go on regular trips to Fairy Land, I've decided it.</p><p>If you read up to here... <strong>THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU</strong><br/>You cannot imagine how much this fic means to me, and every comment, message, kudos and bookmark made my day, my week, my month, my whole winter. Truly.<br/>It is the longest and most ambitious project I ever completed. While it won't seem that much to some, it really is important to me. So, again: THANK YOU for supporting it.</p><p>Let's keep in touch!<br/>Curiouscat: <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/perfectillusion">@perfectillusion</a><br/>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/njghtlock">@njghtlock</a></p><p>Lots of love, hold on, take care of yourself and love yourself ♥♥<br/>- Fran</p><p>PS: In case you're in the mood for more, I have published a single-chapter Namjin Shadowhunters AU (click <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30467640">here</a>).</p>
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